Surivial of the Pack
by PhoenixIsis
Summary: Scattered clans join together. Will they survive the world around or even each other? Inukag, SesRin, MirSan... ect.
1. Leader of the Packs

A/N: I've decided that it is time to get the ball rerolling on this fict. I've put it up on several more sites to get me encouraged to finish this story. Rating for this fict is R, though I may or may not add a few lemons. I'll have to think about them. For the new sites: I hope you enjoy. As for the old site: The first 6 chapters will just be edited a bit more to clear up confusions and awful editing of previous installments.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Warnings: None

Chapter 1

"Kuso," muttered a very annoyed female hanyou. She wore an ankle-length black skirt, with a slit up to the hip on one side for easier running. Black spandex pants were situated underneath, overlapped slightly by soft tipped boots that reached midway up her leg. A utility belt hung freely over her hips, holding a variety of silver objects. She wore a long-sleeved, skin-tight black shirt with holes cut out of the shoulders. Her long black hair, tied loosely behind her with a black tie, laid limply on her shoulder. Deep brown eyes, surveyed the area, before removing a small silver crossbow from her waist. Her black dog ears flickered to the variety of sounds in the darkened forest.

It had been a long hunt, and thus far no food had been obtained to feed her small clan. Night was still strong, but the presence of other predators had scared away most of the prey. She moved quietly along the ground, watching for the signs of predators she knew were in the area. She could smell them, wolves. But these were not part of her makeshift band. These were foreigners, and there were a lot of them. She clicked a small silver arrow into her crossbow, scanning the area with worry.

It was not a good idea to pick a fight with another clan of wolves. Her small pack had learned that when they had met Kouga and his clan of brown wolves. It had been a pretty pathetic fight since her band only had two youkai fighters while Kouga's clan were all youkai. Well, all four of them, to be precise. A famine during the winter season had killed off his clan leaving only three true brown wolves. Their fourth member was actually a fox youkai, rescued during a particularly harsh winter storm.

Kouga was the leader's son from the previous clan, and thus he had taken over the role after the death of his father. Sadly, he was a very domineering sort and rarely listened to other opinions. His second in command was Sango. She was a born fighter and one of the only women in the clan taught to fight. She, therefore, trained extremely hard and to the black wolves, they had practically been doomed from the start. Then there was Kohaku, Sango's little brother. So what if he was only ten, he was still a vicious little thing. Lastly, there was Shippou the fox youkai. He was probably just as bad as the other three because his illusionary power was good. They were beaten to a pulp and didn't even know it.

As for her clan they had been ousted by their own clan in the fall. Her and her little brother were the main reason they were cast out. Kagome and Souta were both hanyou's. Their father, a youkai, had recently died from a disease very similar to the one that had killed their human mother. The clan considered the two to be cursed, and forced them to leave or be killed. As for the other two members, they had come of their own accord. Miroku was a pervert, and tried to get all the females to mate with him. He, therefore, thought that it was in his health interest to leave before an angry mate killed him. Rin, however, came for the adventure and her friendship. Funnily enough, the group had adopted Kagome, a mere hanyou, as their clan leader.

Kagome was grateful that they respected her opinion so highly. Thus, she took this job very seriously, and put her whole heart into protecting her small band. Throughout the fall and most of the winter she had kept her clan healthy and safe. There had been a few close calls, but they held together. Their trust never wavered in her, even when they had been defeated by brown wolves.

The conflict with Kouga's group had been in the last part of the winter. It had been a very cold day and little food had been attained by either group. The battle had not even lasted more than five minutes before Kagome yielded. That, in itself would have been their death sentence, except that Kouga's clan were hungry. Since Kagome was a skilled hunter, they had joined together in an uneasy alliance. From there the two clans came to rely heavily on her skills for hunting and leadership, even if Kouga considered himself the 'leader' of them all.

Currently, they had all split out to find food. Souta, Kohaku, and Shippou were still cubs and weren't allowed to hunt without the adults, yet. They had been told to stick together near the den with one of the adults. Kouga volunteered to be the sitter, and stayed back to guard the den. Sango had gone off with Rin and Miroku. That left her, Kagome, on her own to hunt. She normally would have had a partner, since it is always better to travel in pairs, but Miroku and his lecherous ways had prompted her to leave Rin to protect Sango. She hoped that would work.

A snap of a twig brought her out of her reflections. Something was here. She glanced over to her left, which turned out to be a mistake for the attack came from her right. A body collided with her, throwing her into a tree trunk. A flash of claws was seen, but she ducked and rolled out of the way. The tree crashed down, having been sliced in half by the being.

She shot her arrow off at the being, but it knocked the arrow away with a swipe of the hand. Before she could lock in another, the being was on top of her again. Claws ripped at her shirt, trying to get a hold of her neck. She fought the claws with her own, before kneeing the culprit in the stomach. She rolled away from the stunned being. And fixed another arrow into her bow, aiming at the creature's heart.

The being paused, watching the wolf-girl. In the faint light of the moon, she could discern that this person had long silvery hair, far longer than her hair would ever get. The shirt was definitely white, as it seemed to glow like the hair. The most disconcerting feature, however, were the glowing gold eyes. "White wolf?"

The being shifted its weight. "What difference is that to you?" snapped an irritated, very male, voice.

Kagome glowered. "You are trespassing," she hissed.

The being shrugged. "Your point, wench?"

Kagome shot the arrow, missing him as he jumped out of the way. He tackled her again, taking the crossbow out of her hands. "You need to learn some manners, bitch. Is that really a good way to greet visitors?"

Kagome growled. "And attacking natives is any better, is it?"

They rolled around on the floor wrestling with each other. Occasionally an added hiss or growl would emerge as they rolled over a rock or root. He pinned her down and said, "I wouldn't have attacked if I hadn't been upwind of you. Who in their right mind wears black at night? That's how you get yourself killed, bitch. By the way, you stink."

Kagome growled. "You think I smell? Look who's talking. Ever heard of bathing before?" She rolled him over onto his back.

"Kuso, bitch, that hurt! You need your claws trimmed." He quickly rolled her onto her back. "Much better. Now give me your neck so I can kill you quickly."

"Asshole. I wouldn't give you that satisfaction." She pushed them and together they went rolling over the ground again.

A howl pierced the still night, pausing the two in their struggle for domination, Kagome ending up beneath the other. The wolf on top bent his head down within an inch of her face, to look at the girl. His silver hair fanned about her face and his gold eyes twinkled slightly. "Not anyone I know. You?"

"Kuso," muttered Kagome. Moving her head to the side a little to keep his face from getting so close.

"You should watch your mouth, bitch."

Kagome grabbed his arms, sinking in her claws into his skin in retaliation. "Don't call me bitch."

"I can call you whatever the hell I want. Shouldn't you be running off to your mate. He's calling, isn't he?"

Kagome hissed. "I don't have a mate, bastard!" And with that she stuck her foot into his gut and flipped him over her head, using her arms to propel him. She hopped up from the ground, spotting the silver crossbow. She raced over to it, glancing back over at the wolf rising from the ground. "Love to roll around with you some more, but the cubs and clan need me." And with that she raced off, leaving a cursing male chasing after her.

"What do we have here? I thought the black wolves lived to the north of here?" a cold, emotionless voice said. Sesshoumaru, leader of the White Wolf clan, stood upon a large boulder looking down upon his unexpected guest. He wore a long white rain coat framing his white shirt and gray pants. Silver armor was plated near the breast bone and around the waist. Two swords were held on one side of his body. A large fluffy looking boa-like tail, laid over one shoulder. A blue crescent moon adorned his face, along with two red strips on either cheek. A youkai through and through.

The girl below looked at him in awe. She wore a knee length black skirt with slits on both sides. She wore three-quarter length pants and low ankle boots, adored with silver buckles. She carried two silver hip daggers around her narrow waist, one currently in her hand. She wore a loose fit black shirt with three-quarter sleeves, and finger less black gloves adorned her hands. Her short brown hair had a small ponytail to the right side. She, all in all, looked harmless except for dagger she held in her hand. "You thought wrong, sir," the girl replied.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow up at the girl. "Such respect for a girl who's about to die."

"We shall see," replied the girl, ready for an attack.

Before another word could be exchanged a howl resounded. Sesshoumaru glanced in the direction of it, drawing one of the two swords he had. A crash from bushes a second later, alerted him of another presence in the clearing. A girl in similar black attire paused in her running. She clicked her tongue twice, causing the girl in front of him to turn. A minute too late, he realized the girl had bowed to him and departed with her friend into the woods. He cursed stepping down from his pinnacle. He strode toward the direction they had departed, sniffing to pick up their scents.

Another person crashed into the clearing, wearing a short-sleeved white tank top shirt and black pants. His silver hair, held with a red tie, glinted in the new found light. He paused, noticing Sesshoumaru was in his way. His gold eyes glowed in an ethereal manner. He was not happy.

"Do not tell me you let your prey escape, hanyou?"

The figure smirked, taking a quick sniff. "No more than you did, dear brother. Shall we continue the chase?" He cracked his knuckles in anticipation.

"No," Sesshoumaru replied, departing back toward their camp. "Gather the rest of the group, Inuyasha, and meet back at camp. We need to discuss how to deal with these youkai."

Inuyasha scowled. He wanted to catch that bitch that fought with him. Instead he had to head back for another 'meeting.' He nodded his head slightly, releasing a howl to the sky to call his comrades home. Before running off to track the wayward members of the clan.

"Kagome," said Rin, following after the speeding hanyou. "What's wrong?"

Kagome continued to leap across the ground. "Other than our uninvited guests? I have no idea, but when I find Kouga, I'm going to lop off his head!"

Rin sighed, but kept her comments to herself. Kagome and Kouga did not get along at all. The power struggle between the two was worse than a raging forest fire. Kouga still bugged Kagome about becoming his mate, but Kagome refused each time. Not that Rin blamed her. Kouga was well and good to people most of the time, but far too ignorant about the world around him. Kagome, however, knew what the real world was like. Which added more fuel into the battle between the two chieftains.

They ran through another gap in the forest, spotting two more of their comrades. Kagome clicked her tongue again, causing the other two to turn. They left the crowd of fallen white wolves and followed after their leader. A minute later they emerged from the heart of the forest into a waterfall valley. Their cave, situated behind the largest fall, was, thankfully, hidden from prying eyes. They ran together, hearing a distant howl not of their clan.

Exhausted, they entered into the den, along a narrow cliff edge. The 'cubs' were rough housing with each other, not even noticing their presence. Kagome's eyes glowed in the darkness, before in a loud voice she said, "What the hell do you want, Kouga?! We still haven't gotten any food!"

"What?! You have been out there since sunset! The Moon is fully overhead! What the hell is wrong with you guys?! Don't you know how to catch food?!" Kouga emerged from the dark of the cave. He wore a short-sleeved brown shirt, with a v-cut to show off some of his chest. Matching khaki shorts and knee high furry boots adored his lower physic. Metal armor was attached in random places, and brown cuffings adorned his wrists. He had a short sword on his hip, made out of the typical silver used on all their weapons. His black hair was pulled up into a pony tail with a brown bandana. Several pink bows adorned the wolf youkai's tail, destroying the tough guy image.

The den became deadly silent, before the hunting party started laughing. Kouga glowered at them, catching his tail and taking out the bows. Kagome rolled her eyes. "Where did you get pink bows? None of us wear pink."

"None of your damn business! Now where is dinner?"

Kagome growled. "We haven't gotten anything yet! White wolves are in the area!"

Kouga paused in his next retort, digesting that new piece of information. "How many?"

Someone behind Kagome stepped forward. The figure wore baggy brown pants with an assortment of pockets, boots hidden beneath the pants. A flare of hips and a narrow waist, revealed this to be the female brown wolf, Sango. She had an assortment of traps, poisons, wires, ropes, and weapons in her multitude of pockets. She wore a tan tank top shirt and brown arm warmers. Her black hair was held up into a high ponytail, allowing her brown eyes to shine without getting lost in the dark of her hair. Her brown tail twitched as she said, "Estimated about fifteen or so. We think there are more."

"I think we are looking at more than two dozen," said another voice. Miroku stood forward. He was wearing a black cloak over a pair of pocketed black pants and matching shirt. Pockets were filled with a variety of herbs, that made him smell more like a plant than a wolf. Purple cloth and beads were placed on his right arm, where a curse had been placed upon it. Back in the Black Wolves den, he preferred to wear human priest clothes, but now, robes were just inconvenient. The black cloak, however, now served the purpose of blending into the night.

Rin stepped forward this time. "Their leader is powerful."

This time everyone turned their eyes toward the girl. "How would you know?"

Rin blushed slightly, though no one could tell with the lack of light from the nearby fire. "I encountered him. Kagome called me away."

Kagome looked at her clan member. "The person on the boulder? He's about as useful as Kouga is. Though, I would have to say that his clan members are a bit rough."

Rin glared slightly at Kagome, but didn't comment. She couldn't argue with her leader, and looked down. That's when she noticed blood dripping on the ground. "You are bleeding, Kagome." She moved over to her comrade.

The cubs moved over as well, making their presence known again. They weren't really cubs, but since they were a good eight years younger than some of the 'adults' they were still considered cubs. That and they also had little training in the world of the hunt.

"What happened?" asked Shippou, wrinkling his nose slightly. He wore a pair of brown pants, that allowed his bushy fox tail to show as well as his fox feet. He wore a tan long-sleeved shirt with a black vest. A black tie was held in his hair to keep the orange strands out of his way. "I smell another wolf all over you."

"What?!" snapped Kouga. "Another wolf was on my woman?! I'll kill the bastard!"

Everyone ignored the outburst by Kouga. It was a constant thing for him to flip about another male being near Kagome. Not that it made any difference. Kagome did as she pleased, anyway.

Souta handed Rin some cloth to clean the wounds on Kagome. He stood nearby looking anxiously at his sister. His black ears twitched and flattened every time Kagome winced or squeaked out a curse. He wore a long black shirt and black gloves. A set of gauntlets were situated over his tight sleeves, that held his ninja stars. A small pouch adorned his left side where the extra stars were held. He wore semi-loose black pants and small sneaker-like boots. His brown hair was the only one short enough to not have anything adorning it.

The remaining member of the two clans, Kohaku moved over to his sister to help her clean the weapons she had used on the new wolves. His black hair was pulled back in a short ponytail much like his idol, Miroku, did his hair. Kohaku, thankfully, did not pick up Miroku's bad habits, but he did do similar studies that Miroku did. His weapon, a sickle with chain, was held on a strap on his back. He wore a thick brown shirt with short sleeves. A pair of brown pants, adorned with several buckled pouches, covered his boots and legs.

"So, we don't eat tonight?" asked Shippou.

Kagome, stretched her bandaged arm. "No, Shippou. I'll go and get some food."

Everyone looked at her in surprise. "I'll be fine. I'll be back in a little while." Without waiting for an answer from the group, she ran out into the waterfall, falling into the water pool below.

"Other wolves? Here?" asked one of the cubs. Kanna and her twin Kagura sat next to each other, exchanging excited glances. Kanna wore a white dress with matching sandals. Her black eyes, for once, glinted her amusement on her usually serious, expressionless face. Kagura, wore the same white dress as her sister, but her black hair and red eyes set them apart. Kagura was smiling too, unlike her sister, and she always displayed her emotions up front.

"Any women?" asked another member. He had long curly black hair and beady black-brown eyes. Naraku, a hanyou of a baboon clan, sat next to the twins. How he became one of the White Wolves was an interesting story, but a long one. Needless to say, instead of being eaten, he was allowed to join into Sesshoumaru's rank. He usually wore an Atsuita, an ancient male clothing outfit, with a white bamboo pelt over it.

Kikyou glared at him from across the fire. She held her long black hair up in a white ribbon that matched her white skirt and shirt combo. Her skirt reached her knees, where white thigh-high boots were revealed. Her shirt had large sleeves that were translucent, and a very low collar. Needless to say, she left little to the imagination for the male populous. She was a very calm, practically emotionless, person on the whole.

"Yes, they have females," muttered Inuyasha, running a clawed hand through his hair. The movement showed a few of the scratches he had received along one of his arms. A murmur of laughs and chuckles resounded from the people in the group.

Sesshoumaru held up a clawed hand for order. "We need to discuss how we will deal with this clan. They apparently are somewhat skilled in defense." His eyes focused on seven of the group sustaining injuries from broken arms to bleeding gashes. "Only two of their number did that. As for the others, we are still unsure what they can do. We also do not have any idea how many of them there are."

"What can a bunch of females do anyway?" muttered Kikyou.

"They aren't all female," snapped Inuyasha. "And they aren't all black wolves either. There are brown wolves and even possible foxes in their midst."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "This Sesshoumaru, also came to the same conclusions. Therefore, scouts and guards will be posted tonight. Kikyou, Naraku, Houjo, and Ayumi are on guard duty. Ayame, Hakkaku, Jaken, and Inuyasha are on scout duty. See what you can find. Now." The people rose from their places, muttering obscenities under their breath as they set out on their duties. "And will someone please get rid of that blood scent from the grounds. It is going to make us all sick."

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Updated 1/12/05

Translation notes and Pronunciation:

Inuyasha- (e-new-yah-shah) Literally means female dog demon… but typically most just refer to his name as dog demon… though yasha is really only used for female demons.

Kuso- (coo-soh) Shit.

Hanyou- (hah-n-yoh) Half of a kind.

Kouga- (koh-gah) Depending on Kanji, this name can mean selfish beggar or elegant.

Youkai- (yoh-k-eye) Apparition, demon.

Sango- (sah-n-goh) Coral.

Kohaku- (koh-hah-coo) Amber.

Shippou- (sheep-poe) A tail.

Kagome- (kah-go-meh) Kagome is actually a poem that children in Japan will sing. Basically her name would mean Caged bird like in the poem.

Souta- (soh-tah) Depending on Kanjii his name can mean anything from highly respected priest to just plain ol' highly admired and respected.

Miroku- (me-row-coo) Not a good body or person.

Rin- (ree-n) A bell.

Sesshoumaru- (seh-show-MAH-roo) Cruel curse or circle. Now I'm going to rant because dubbed anime has messed up his name. It is not pronounced seh-SHOW-mah-roo… the 'ma' in his name is where the emphasis is placed on the name not the shou… (just my little pet-peeve).

Ninja- (kneen-jah) Practitioner of ninjitsu (a form of martial arts- the art of invisibility).

Kanna- (kahn-nah) A plane; non-existant.

Kagura- (kah-goo-rah) A sacred dance of shinto religion.

Naraku- (nah-rah-coo) Hell.

Kikyou- (key-k-qyo) A chinese bellflower, violet blue.

Houjo- (hoe-joh) I used his last name instead of his first name for this fict as most people probably don't even know what his first name is. Anyway Houjo means: Help; Aid.

Ayumi- (ah-you-me) Walking a step.

Ayame- (ah-yah-meh) A sweet blue flag.

Hakkaku- (hahk-kah-coo) Disclosure; octagon.

Jaken- (jah-keh-n) Unkind, cruel.


	2. Under fed

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I do not own the weaponry either… though sometimes I wish I did. ::sigh:: I want my metal chopsticks. ::sniffsniff:: Oh, wait they aren't in this chapter…

Warnings: None

Chapter 2

Kagome sighed. Maybe her sense of smell was off, but she still hadn't found any prey. The last thing she needed was to go back to the den empty handed. The clan was already under fed as is, and a day without food was not going to make the following day any better. With the new arrivals, however, there could possibly be no food for them by tomorrow.

A familiar smell drifted toward her nose, and she growled. "Not again." She clipped off her crossbow from her waist. Silently she pulled an arrow off her belt and clicked it into place. She winced at the loudness of the sound, knowing for sure that the being had heard her.

A figure jumped down from one of the trees before she ever got the locked weapon trained upward for defense. "I thought you ran away, wench?"

Kagome growled, keeping her weapon pointed down. It was all fine and dandy to have it trained on an enemy before they appeared. It was just plain foolish to point it at them when they had already arrived. "I can't play with you right now. I have to get dinner for my clan."

Inuyasha scowled. He wasn't going to let her get off so easy. He made up his mind, and disappeared out of the clearing in a flash.

Kagome's mouth fell open. She obviously missed something here. He was itching for a fight, she knew. She had really ticked him off when she was called away. So, why had he just run off? Kagome never had a chance to regain her senses as the hanyou crashed back into the clearing.

A large animal, slung over his shoulders, was suddenly tossed down at her feet. Inuyasha cracked his neck and hands. "Now that's taken care of. Where were we?"

Kagome slowly closed her fallen jaw. Had he just retrieved food for her? That's something only ma- She broke out of her thoughts rapidly. She turned her gaze to the animal in front of her. It was a large mammal of some sort, bigger than any she had ever personally killed. "That's enough food to feed us for a week!"

It was Inuyasha's turn to look shocked. The beast he had killed would barely feed five of his tribes men in one meal. How many people were in her clan? Were there really that few of them that she didn't have to worry about a large amount of food? Or were they actually starving out here, with too many mouths to feed? He took a hesitant sniff of the air, before catching the scent he feared. She was malnourished... severely. "Oi, wench! How many are you feeding?"

Kagome, without even thinking, responded, "Eight." As soon as the words slipped through her lips she hit her head. "Damn it! You didn't hear that!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, mostly to hide his shock. Eight mouths to feed? How the hell had the clan members survived? Maybe he should have killed two beasts for her. He pinched himself on that thought. If the bitch couldn't feed her clan properly, then there was little use for her to be a chieftain. How in the world had that group chosen such a poor provider. "For a chieftain, you suck. When was the last time they ate?"

Kagome growled at the insult, but she knew what he said to be true. She couldn't provide for her clan very well. Sango and Miroku were fighters not hunters, so their skills in the hunt were still poor. Shippou, Souta, and Kohaku were still too young to make a successful kill that would feed the group. Kouga was the last line of defense and rarely ever left the den. That just left Rin, whom Kagome was currently teaching the hunt. Black wolves rarely ever taught the females how to hunt. Kagome thought it was the male ego that got in the way.

She sighed, the fire of the fight leaving her eyes as she looked at the white hanyou. There was no point in beating around the bush anymore. If anything, maybe the new clan would leave them be. After all, eight creatures were hardly worth their time or energy to bother with. Then again, they could move on too, finding the lack of food sufficient for only a small clan. That would be a better option. "Yesterday evening. It was our one meal for the day."

"One meal?! What are you trying to do? Kill them all?"

Kagome's shoulders sagged slightly. She glanced down at her crossbow, removing the arrow and placing it at her waist. There was going to be no fight with the hanyou now. She folded up her crossbow, trying to put into words what she wanted to say. "I'm not trying to kill them," her voice was a little weak. "There hasn't been enough food around and I lack the needed hunters."

"Keh," was his reply. To his relief he was glad that she had put up her weapon. She was an excellent shot. and he had already gotten nicked earlier. Still, something was bothering him about her tiredness. He swiftly moved toward her, standing in her bubble space. That was when he spotted the small bandages on her right arm. He had done that. He, however, hadn't moved this close to inspect her injuries. He turned his gaze to her exposed neck.

Kagome's eyes grew wide as her nose literally touched his shirt. The faint sound of someone breathing in, right above her shoulder, told her he was catching her scent. She froze, unsure of what he was trying to get from her. She wasn't marked, but somehow that didn't seem to be the case. Maybe he just wanted to retain her scent so that he could keep track of her. No, he would have picked up her scent in the first encounter. So what the heck was he doing?

"When was the last time you ate?"

The question was asked so softly, that Kagome wasn't quite sure she heard correctly. "Excuse me?"

He pulled back sharply, glaring at her. "I said, when was the last time you ate, bitch?"

Kagome growled. "Why the hell do you care, jerk?!"

"Because you smell sickly."

"Eh?" Kagome lifted a hand to her nose and smelled. A faint sour milk smell wafted from her skin. Her eyes widened in horror. She had never really thought about what she would smell like after not eating for several days. Had the others picked up on it? Probably not since they were all fairly under fed as it was. " Five days, I guess. Maybe more."

"You guess?! Are you really that stupid?"

Kagome glared. "My job is to make my pack safe and healthy. They are my first priority. We have three cubs who need the food far more than I. Besides, I can go a week without food, easily. I've done it before."

Inuyasha snorted his opinion. "I guess play time will have to wait. You are in no condition to fight me."

Kagome growled starting to open her crossbow again. "I did just fine earlier this evening! Care to see if I'm any worse?!"

Inuyasha growled in response. "You were unbelievably weak! You can't expect to fight good when you're under fed!"

"Oh, big deal," she said, rolling her eyes. "It's none of your business whether I eat or not, anyway. You are not part of my clan, White."

"Thank god! I'd probably have starved to death under your command, wench."

"Can you ever stop calling me names, jerk?!"

"Only when you stop, bitch."

"Cockroach!"

"Brat!"

"Bastard."

"Moron."

"Leech!"

"Prima donna!"

"Coward!"

In a flash, Inuyasha had picked up Kagome by the throat. "I am not a coward, bitch!" He squeezed his claws tighter around her throat causing her to gasp for breath. "Is that understood?"

Kagome spit in his face, but was very dismayed that he didn't let go of her. In fact, the grip had only intensified. She was starting to see spots darkening her vision as she struggled to catch her breath. Before she completely blacked out, he dropped her. Kagome gasped for breath. A string of hacking coughs raked her frame as she struggled to get used to air again.

Inuyasha slammed a fist into a nearby tree in anger. He had never tried to kill a girl before. Sure he had thoughts about doing that all the time, especially when the trouble maker twins (Kagura and Kanna) were on a rampage. But he had never actually tried to kill one before. She had just kicked him over the edge. "Damn it!" He slammed his fist again, creating a hole in the tree. Splinters and small wood chips dug into his hand, causing blood to flow. He didn't care, though, as he hit the tree again, toppling it over.

Kagome, no longer struggling for air, watched him with wide eyes. She was still on the ground, where he had so 'nicely' dropped her. "What did the tree do to you?"

Inuyasha scowled turning his back to her. "None of your damn business, wench."

Kagome prickled slightly at the comment. "Sure. And trying to kill me, isn't my business either."

"Keh." Inuyasha flopped down on the ground, sitting cross legged. His arms were folded over each other and he glared off into the dark woods, back still to Kagome. His hand was starting to hurt, and he just wanted the girl gone.

Kagome growled. "Hey, Jerk! I'm talking to you!"

Inuyasha pointedly ignored her, shifting his weight more away from her figure.

Kagome launched herself at him, but ended up getting thrown on her back instead. Inuyasha had grabbed her wrist, flipping her over his body, before she ever even reached him. He currently had his face hovering over her, a permanent scowl there. To Kagome, he was upside down, since he had never even moved from his sitting position. Still she continued to glare at him, though more at his chin than his eyes.

"Go home, wench, and take your food."

He said that in a such a monotone that Kagome wasn't sure whether she was in danger of death or being laughed at. She decided it was the former, glancing at the red flecks in his gold eyes. She gulped. Yep, time to go. She inched away from him, still on her back, before she rolled away. She stood up quickly, looking apprehensively at the male, before scurrying off to the large beast. She hefted it up, buckling slightly under the weight, and turned to exit the clearing.

"There will be another one of those here, tomorrow night," came his voice. He still sat in the same position, unmoving except for his lips. His shoulders were slumped forward, and it appeared that he was thinking hard about something or better yet, sulking over the incident.

Kagome nodded slightly before she disappeared into the forest. Inuyasha didn't move from his spot until her footsteps had completely died away, which unfortunately took a good twenty minutes. After that, he stood, plucking the wood pieces out of his hand and cursing colorfully. Two times in one night he had gotten injured by that girl. Well, okay, the second incident had been his fault. Nevertheless, if she kept up with the current course, both of them would end up being pin cushions.

Sesshoumaru watched as his half-brother stumbled back into the camp around dawn. The other scouts had returned hours ago, having found no trace of the other clan. Still, he wasn't too surprised, since they had fanned out in directions that were not in the same direction he had seen the two women depart. He also knew that his brother would have found them, since he was muttering choice curses about the female hanyou that had escaped. Still, he would have found the clan in less than an hour, and it wasn't near his time of the month when his nose failed him. So what had taken his idiotic brother so long?

Sesshoumaru sneezed slightly. The smell of blood had drifted past his sensitive nose. The clan had already cleaned up that potent smell long ago. This, therefore, meant that the smell was coming off his brother. Sesshoumaru walked over to his brother, whom was currently moving aside his blankets to sleep. "What took you?"

Inuyasha scowled up at his brother. "None of your damn business!" Inuyasha's eyes widened slightly. Bad move.

Sesshoumaru picked him up by the collar of his shirt. "Care to say that again, hanyou?"

Inuyasha said nothing, deciding it was best not to tick off his brother any more than he already was. The fact that Sesshoumaru did not known about the area having the other wolf clan, had been a terrible blow to his pride. Not to mention the fact that two of their number had escaped his clutches. Inuyasha was finally dropped, unceremoniously, with the older brother still glaring down at him.

"If I have to ask you 'what took you so long' again, the consequences will be quite painful for you, brother."

Inuyasha scowled, fixing his white shirt into place. "I had a slight run in with the other clan."

"Must have been more than slight to keep you out all night."

Inuyasha growled. "The encounter didn't even last more than thirty minutes."

"Then why are you so late returning? The only injuries you sustained was to your hand, and it appears that you did that yourself."

"I was thinking!"

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow, but decided not to comment. He wanted information now, and provoking the annoyed hanyou would not help him. "Tell me everything of the encounter, then."

Inuyasha growled. "The clan is a mix. I smelled both brown and black wolves and fox. Their leader is a female black wolf hanyou. The clan is underfed with few competent hunters. The clan is extremely small, only eight, so I guess that doesn't matter. Three of their number are cubs."

Sesshoumaru sighed, processing the information. The 'native' clan here was harmless to them. They would most likely hide away in their den than try to get rid of the intruders. The fact that full youkai were following a hanyou, let alone a female, was disturbing to him. Why would they follow such a weak leader?

The black wolf he had encountered was not weak in the least. She could have made a better leader than a female hanyou. "How strong is the hanyou, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha had snuggled under his blankets while Sesshoumaru had been absorbed into his thoughts. Now, he seriously wanted to kill his brother, just so he could get some sleep. "What kind of question is that?"

"You were chasing after her earlier. How strong was she?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Weak. She's too underfed to be strong enough to fight a full youkai."

"And she's underfed, why?"

"She gives the food to her clan instead of herself."

Sesshoumaru fixed his gold eyes on his brother. "Self-sacrificing?"

Inuyasha snorted. "How should I know? I've only met her twice!"

"Twice?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened. He flattened his ears against his head before he ducked down under his animal hide blankets. He clutched the covers in around him making sure that he blocked out the sunlight of the morning, as well as his brother.

Sesshoumaru sighed. There was no point in standing around to wait. That was all the information he would get out of his annoying little brother. He turned and strode off toward the main campfire. He would have to watch his brother closely, now. It wasn't like his brother would betray him, it was the fact that Inuyasha was coming of age.

If he didn't act fast, his hanyou brother would choose his own. That, of course, could not be allowed. The chieftain always paired off potential mates together at the start of the spring season. If a clan member chose before the season without permission, then there would be consequences to pay from the chieftain. If they chose a different mate, after they had already been paired at the spring solstice ceremony, then that mating couple would either be killed or exiled.

There were also more complications when the mates were from two different clans. These happened rarely, considering that the chieftains from both clans had to agree to the match. From there, one of the groups would have to keep the mated pair as their own. A lot of hate stemmed from mixed mates, the worse pairing dealing with humans. Since humans had no chieftain, no rules were applied. The downside, however, was that the clan typically ignored the small pack. If the resulting hanyou cubs were to loose their parents, then they were cast out of the clan.

Sesshoumaru had wanted to do that with his pathetic brother, but couldn't. His brother was a strong individual, even if he was a pathetic half-breed. The fact that the human populous was getting to be increasingly difficult, he needed all the able bodies he could. That was why his, once pure clan, was now riddled with halflings and foreigners. Nonetheless, they obeyed him without question.

Currently, he was facing a serious problem that put the humans at bay for the moment. The solstice was a few weeks away, and he had yet to decide which ones to pair off. Not only that, but as the chieftain he had to pick a mate as well. The choices, however, were poor to his standards. He wanted a strong female to be with, but the ones in this clan were all too weak. They had been pampered most of their lives until the hunts began upon them. Now, they were sniveling bitches.

As a result, he understood why his brother was already seeking out one from the other clan. Of course, his brother was too young to understand what he was doing. Sesshoumaru knew that his brother didn't even understand the ways of the adults, but he had to be taught. If his brother broke the rules, how many others would follow?

No he had to start getting the plans ready for the solstice. He needed to talk to the Elder too. She may have some insights on how to dish out the partners. She may even have some advice on how to deal with his brother. Maybe she could even see if there was something to be done for himself. After all, Kaede supposedly had the great seeing powers of their ancestors. Sesshoumaru shrugged. It was worth a shot. A second opinion might be helpful.

Rin sat just outside the cave where cool spritz of water occasionally attacked her as she cleaned her daggers. The sun was finally beginning to shine down into the waterfall valley. Soon, she would need to return to the protection of the cave, but for now she enjoyed her time with nature. Besides, it had been weeks since she had been able to come outside without fear of humans or weakness.

Last night, Kagome had become a hero. She had told them that she had found a place to catch these beasts, so she told them to eat their fill. Of course no one needed to be told that twice. Rin and Sango helped to cook the meat, while Kouga just munched down on raw pieces, much to the others' dislike. Raw meat was all well and good, but cooked meat usually tasted much better. Besides, with Miroku's herbs, you could never go wrong.

Rin smiled at the memory. It had been awhile since they all ate such a meal. She hoped that Kagome would actually be able to retrieve something even larger for tonight. They were all too malnourished to be eating small scraps. She frowned as she thought about that.

Once again, Kagome had taken up the scraps, encouraging everyone to eat. Rin had tried once to get Kagome to eat more, but it had backfired into Kagome giving Shippou and Souta her extras. She had said that they looked far too skinny to not need the food. Rin wasn't the only one that had noticed this behavior. Both Miroku and Sango talked about it when they were hunting last night. That was when they had come to that startling conclusion that none of them had seen Kagome eat anything in seven days.

Rin, therefore, had set out to find Kagome hoping to force feed her. Of course, the white wolf she ran into had deterred that idea in an instant. Rin could still remember the gold eyes that had watched with no emotion. It was like the being had never known how to laugh, cry, or even yell in frustration. It tore at her heart to see someone just plain empty.

Then again, she really would have enjoyed fighting a small battle with the youkai. His youki smell was powerful, and she had no doubt that his skills would be superb. Maybe if she was more skilled in fighting, like Sango or Miroku, she wouldn't have been as nervous as she had. So, maybe it would be best if she watched him fight. Yeah, that would be a better and safer option.

She sighed, sheathing her polished daggers. Maybe she would get to see him again, but under better circumstances. She rolled her eyes. There was no such thing as better circumstances to the territories of clans. Still, she couldn't help but dream, as she turned back into the cave, leaving the daylight.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Updated 1/12/05

Translation notes and Pronunciation:

Oi- (oy) Hey.

Kaede- (kye-deh) Maple Tree.

Youki- (yoh-key) Weird Air; strange aura.


	3. Battle of Wills

A/N: I was re-reading this story after I had neglected it for some time and found this unusual sensation. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed writing it and thus decided that I must continue it. There will be lemons, eventually, but for now I'm quite content to play with the characters. Oh and to let you know I am using 24 characters from the story and none of them are 'evil' in the sense that they are the bad guys. . Now won't that complicate things, ne?

Warnings: None.

Chapter 3

"Do we have enough to buy the net?" asked a nervous Sango. She unconsciously rubbed her arms, not liking her surroundings. She was wearing the same outfit from the night before with a few slight modifications. For instance, her hair was down to cover her pointed youkai ears, sunglasses were fixed over her slitted eyes, and a sable jacket was wrapped around her waist to hide her brown tail.

"Yes," came the male reply. Miroku was standing besides her, looking at the net. He too wore sunglasses, with the hood of his cloak drawn up. This of course caused people to stare at him like he was some freak. After all, humans no longer wore cloaks except for the occasional festival. "It costs three silver thistles. We have enough to buy one of those tarps too. We could use it to keep out the water spray from the falls."

Sango nodded her head slightly, inching away from Miroku's wayward hand. "You grope me in this store, Miroku, and I'll cut off that hand of yours," she hissed.

Miroku quickly withdrew his hand, grabbing the net, as he wandered over to gather up the dark brown tarp. With the two items he wandered over to the clerk's desk to buy the items. He laid the things on top, as the burly looking human rang up the purchase.

"That'll be sev'n silvar this'es."

Miroku handed over seven silver thistles, while Sango picked up the two purchases.

"Thank yous and comeths again," came the clerk's monotone farewell.

"And people say youkai can't speak human well," muttered Miroku.

Sango stood to the right on the sidewalk, the two purchases rolled carefully under her arm. "We should go collect Kouga and the cubs. I don't trust Kouga enough to let him watch over Souta and Shippou in a human town."

Miroku nodded in agreement. "They were going to the ice cream parlor when we had headed in there." He started walking down the street, avoiding the moving vehicles. He would never understand why humans would want to ride around in metal objects all day long instead of feeling the freedom of a nice walk. In any case, a walk was certainly less pollutant than these monstrosities.

Sango rolled her eyes and headed over to a pedestrian walkway. She didn't want to tempt fate with humans that tended to crash those things more than they actually drove them. Besides, it was less suspicious if one took the walkway than one strutting across the roadway. But no one ever said Miroku was smart about concealing his identity either. Case and point why the cubs were never left in his care. Kouga was a little better, but the best was Rin when it came to watching over the clan in the human world. Kagome was too different to feel comfortable in the human world, unless it was her time of the month. She also tended to complain about wearing a hat to cover her ears.

Sango rolled her eyes at the sound of a screeching break. She stepped onto the walkway, ignoring the stares people were directing to another individual down the roadway.

"Watch where you're going jackass!" yelled an irritated driver.

"Back at you, moron!" snapped Miroku. He strode around the vehicle, ignoring the other drivers staring at him in wonder and a little fear. They apparently believed that Miroku was either blind or suicidal. In either case, no human wanted anything to do with him, and allowed him to maneuver around their vehicles as well. When, at last, the renegade youkai finally reached the safety of the walkway, the vehicles began to move again.

"I'm glad Kagome agreed to let us come into the city. I really love ice cream," said Shippou. He was wearing a long charcoal jacket, since it was cold out today for humans, over his outfit. He wore small shoes to hide his feet, sunglasses, and a knitted black hat to cover ears and most of his hair.

"Nee-chan would have let us anyway. With the meal we had the other day, I think she wanted a break from all of us. Besides, with that new clan around, we had to buy some supplies to protect the den," said Souta. A pitch-black baseball cap, turned backwards, was on his head to hide his ears.

"Yeah, but where did we get the money? I mean, if we had so much human money we could have been eating their food and not starving," whispered Kohaku in an undertone. He wore a brown jacket around his waist to hide his tail, and a sable bandanna tied in his hair to cover the tips of his ears.

Kouga, lounging back in the booth across from the three cubs, replied, "You have me to thank for that. Speed of the hand is sometimes a really useful trick." He wore a brown trench coat to cover any of his unusual features with a wide brim hat fixed on his head.

Souta's eyes widened. "Nee-chan's going to yell at you. She doesn't like it when you steal things from other people."

"Its not like we can earn the money on our own, dimwit," snapped Kouga.

"I'm not a-"

"Hey guys," came another voice.

The group turned to see Sango and Miroku standing besides the table.

"Are we going now?" asked a frowning Shippou.

"As soon as you all are done with your treats. Kagome-chan will start to worry if we take too long."

The others nodded and began to finish their ice cream.

Kagome slowly slunk into the clearing, just as the moon rose up into the sky. She was taking soft breaths, trying to catch any animal scent other than the dead animal that was in the clearing ahead. She knew he was out there, he had to be, but where? Maybe he thought she wasn't going to show and just left the animal there. She rolled her eyes. No, he was there. She glanced around before finally coming to stand before the dead animal. She touched the animal with her boot, but kept her eyes and cross bow trained on her surroundings.

A movement was heard, but it was too late for her to do anything. He was down on the ground behind her in an instant. Before she could turn around, his arm snaked around her waist, pulling her back against his chest, as the other clawed hand grabbed her crossbow to prevent a launch. "You aren't very good at stalking your prey."

She calmed her racing blood and steeled her tone to wash away any of the shock of being caught so off guard. "How long have you been here? I didn't sense any movements in those trees."

He smirked, his arms tightening ever so slightly. "Long enough to wait for you to stalk your loud self through the forest." In the next moment he lowered his head to the crook of her neck to take in her scent.

Kagome was angry, which only increased the blush that was already forming on her face. She contemplated how to kick his... A chill ran down her spine when she felt his nose hover just above the juncture of her neck and shoulder. She had to stifle a giggle as his silver hair ticked her face and neck. She knew what he was sniffing for, but a part of her wanted to smack him upside the head for over stepping his boundaries. He, in reality, had no right to be doing what he was. He was not a Black wolf, he was not pack, and he most certainly was not her mate. Still she let him take in her scent, even if she didn't understand why.

"Did you actually eat anything?" he asked in a deadly tone.

Kagome's jaw moved slightly as she stiffened at his tone. He was angry... no furious, at her. "I..."

"Baka. If you don't eat tonight, I will personally shove food down your throat tomorrow." With that parting grace, he released her and took to the trees, disappearing from the clearing.

Kagome collapsed to the ground at the sudden loss of support and warmth coming from the White wolf hanyou. Now, more than ever, she wished her parents were alive so that she could talk about the things that were going on. She was utterly confused with her behavior toward the White. She had never even let Kouga that close to her, let alone allow him to chastise her like she was a pup.

She clenched her claws before stalking over to the dead animal. Like he would force feed her if she didn't eat enough. He wouldn't even dare.

"Brother, you and I need to talk," Sesshoumaru stated, as the infuriated hanyou entered the camp.

"Can't it wait?"

Sesshoumaru paused in his retort at the tone emanating from the hanyou. In those few words, his brother had conveyed all of his anger, frustration, weariness, and... helplessness? Sesshoumaru sighed and stalked away from his brother. There was no point in telling the halfling to stop his pursuit of the Black wolf hanyou. At least for tonight.

Sesshoumaru was actually not that adverse to the idea of his brother having a hanyou mate, since he believed all half bloods deserved to be polluted together. His problem actually stemmed from the fact that Inuyasha was completely unaware of what he was doing. Ignorance is bliss, but entirely stupid. He was going to end up causing more problems in the long run.

Sesshoumaru wandered out of the camp a ways, searching for a place to sit and contemplate his thoughts. After his discussion with Kaede the night before, he had come to a conclusion that both hurt his authority, but would be overall a better solution to this problem of his brother. She had told him point blank that if he didn't want to kill his sibling, then he must not interfere with the hanyou choosing his own mate before solstice. This, of course, would cause a great stir in the pack for just thinking about such an allowance. However, if he didn't let the hanyou choose now, he would choose later and damn the consequences.

Personally he would rather his brother choose a mate before the solstice. Sure he would have to deal with the tension that would be brought down on his head, but he needed his brother. He would never admit it aloud, but Inuyasha was an invaluable asset to the pack. He was a strong hunter, fighter, and care taker of the young and old. It was his human heart that allowed the hanyou to be so patient with the cubs, even better than most of the women.

Sesshoumaru gracefully sat down upon a small boulder. Of course, Inuyasha always put on the front that he hated the young ones. He couldn't fool the children, though. It was a sixth sense for cubs to know which adult to turn to for aid. Sometimes it was their parents, but often it tended to be the most childish of the adults that the children clung to. Inuyasha was as much a child as the cubs, always bending and breaking the rules to fit his own perspective. And he, Sesshoumaru, continued to allow such insubordination.

A snap of a twig brought him out of his thoughts. He turned his cold eyes toward the source, narrowing them to see clearer. Darkness coated everything in inky polluted shadows that it almost hid the small crouching figure from view. He drew out Toukijin, one of the two swords he carried, and held it ready for an attack. He then carefully smelled the area to pick up the scent of the intruder. A soft herbal fragrance of sage and rosemary intermixed the spicy scent of wolf, told him all he needed to know.

"Come here, Black." A prolonged silence from the figure told him that the Black wolf refused the order. He sighed and reluctantly made a show of sheathing the sword.

The figure finally moved, crawling slowly on the ground, revealing it's head into the gray colored clearing. Slowly, it moved to a standing position, silver dagger hilts glinting at the waist of the figure. The figure ran a hand through shoulder length hair, avoiding the small side ponytail on the right side of the head.

"So we meet again."

Rin nodded her head, her eyes shifting around for a quick exit. She was already late returning to the den, and needed to hurry up this encounter. She was already in for a long lecture for returning late, which was made worse by the fact that she would return without any food. Not to mention that she had just been spotted by a White. "This day just keeps getting better and better," muttered Rin, sarcasm thickly lacing her words.

Sesshoumaru moved forward, surprised that no scent of fear was added as he came closer. She really wasn't afraid of him? His own clan members trembled when he came near them, worried that death was near at hand for them. He believed it was his cold composure that threw them off kilter so badly, but still he hated it when others showed their fear. Not to mention that fear smelled like week old spoiled meat.

Rin held her ground. He showed no threat to her, but he was wasting precious time. As he strode forward, she felt a small rise of panic. She had to leave, now! She waved her hand to stop his approach. "I must go."

Sesshoumaru paused. He could see the panic rising in her as he had approached. Not to mention that her hand was shaking slightly. Still he could smell no fear on her, at least directed toward him. He cocked his head to the side, raising a finely carved eyebrow. "Go, then."

Rin sagged in relief, quickly moving toward the forest, her front still facing the other. "Gomen nasai."

"Do not apologize to I, Lord Sesshoumaru of the White Wolf clan. However, tell your chieftain that I request an audience with her and her clan."

Rin's eyes widened. "What?"

Sesshoumaru, whom was already walking out of the clearing, paused and turned his head ever so slightly over his shoulder. "Evening after next we shall meet. Tomorrow night you shall tell me where to meet them." And then he was gone.

Rin stood there frozen, digesting that last piece of information. He had actually ordered her to meet him tomorrow night! Her eyes widened as she turned and raced off to the den. How would Kagome react to this news. Better yet, what would she say to Rin meeting him again tomorrow night? She would do best to ignore that piece of information when she relayed the message.

"They want to meet us?" asked Sango, slowly, as she slurped her soup up.

"Yes," Rin replied. She was currently sitting next to the brown, glad to not be in trouble with the pack. Then again, she wasn't the only one to return back late. In fact, Kagome was the last to arrive, with her successful kill slung over her shoulders. She also smelled like that other wolf from the night before.

Kagome was currently drinking plain broth, having refused the fresh meat on purpose. She knew it was a poor idea, but she really wanted to know what the hanyou would do tomorrow, knowing that she hadn't really eaten anything. It was foolish to do so, already low on food as is, but she wasn't going to be bullied by that jerk.

"Kagome-sama?"

Kagome looked up from her musings to glance at Miroku. "Yes?"

"What is your decision?"

"My what?"

Rin rolled her eyes while the cubs started laughing. She knew that their leader hadn't been paying attention. She worried that the lack of food was starting to block out all other thoughts except hunger. "Are we going to meet with the White Wolf Clan?"

Kagome took another swallow of broth. "I suppose we should. It is only polite since they asked to meet with us first. I guess we could send Kouga to ask about-"

"Iie! I am not going into the fucking wolf camp! It's bad enough I have to listen to you in the first place!" snapped Kouga.

"I'll go, Kagome-sama," replied Rin. "After all, I was the one that was confronted by them tonight."

Kagome snorted, suppressing the urge to prove to Rin that she wasn't the only one who had an encounter with the other pack. She glanced at Rin, wondering if that was a good or bad idea. Rin had been the one to relay the message, and she hadn't been harmed by the being either. That was always a plus. Sango and Miroku tended to knock out all enemies without asking questions, which made contact with others difficult. Kouga lacked... well everything involved in intercommunication with other species and packs. As for herself, well she and her 'guest' tended to hit and run, without really getting anywhere.

On the other hand, Kagome did not want to send her closest ally into enemy territory. Okay, so they weren't really enemies. The White hanyou was actually providing food for her clan, not that she was going to admit having to rely on someone else for a change. And there hadn't been any real serious injuries inflicted on either clan.

Rin's heart plummeted. Kagome wasn't going to allow her to go. She was taking too long weighing the possibilities. Did she really not trust her enough to send on an important mission? Was she really that useless? The people of the original Black clan, the Yoru Clan she had come from, had thought so. Rin blinked her eyes, to prevent any tears that might threaten to fall.

"You will go," came Kagome's reply, her eyes fixed upon Rin.

It took a moment for Rin to realize Kagome had meant her. She was going! She was to be the diplomat! Rin couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. "As you wish, Kagome-sama."

"But if you do this, Rin," came Kagome's warning tone, "That means you will have a great responsibility. You need to find a place to meet them, what weaponry is allowed, who is allowed to show, and what is expected as a peace gift. It all lands on your shoulders. If anything, and I mean anything, goes wrong the punishment will fall only on your shoulders. Is that understood?"

Rin nodded. "I will make you proud of your clan, Kagome-sama."

It was then that Kagome smiled. "Good. Now, how was the city?"

At that, the cubs jumped in with exaggerated stories of the trials and tribulations that occurred in obtaining ice cream.

"I'm not letting you drop down on me like last time," called out the female Black wolf hanyou. "I know you are here White."

"No duh, bitch," came the insolent reply, as Inuyasha entered the clearing, for once on the ground instead of the trees. He strode forward, ignoring the weapon that was cocked and trained on him.

"I don't think so, White." She released the arrow.

Inuyasha cursed, dodging the arrow and tackling the girl to the ground. "Is that anyway to thank the one who's providing your clan with meat? Ungrateful bitch."

The girl wiggled trying to get free of his hold. "No more disrespectful than you ordering me around and insulting me at the same time."

"Keh." Inuyasha quickly leaned his head forward to sniff at the junction of her neck again. This only caused the girl to move around, struggling to get out of his grasp.

"Haven't you even heard of 'bubble space,' jerk?"

The hanyou smirked, his gold eyes flashing. "Nope." He took another quick sniff. A low growl emanated from his belly. She hadn't been eating enough. There should have been a change in her scent by now. She was obviously eating the scraps of the food, while her clan was eating the true bulk of the meat. Stupid girl. "I thought I told you to eat," he growled out.

The girl rolled her brown eyes, ignoring the sudden butterflies in her stomach. "I did."

"Not enough to count. Lucky for you, I brought a nice size snack."

"Snack?" she muttered weakly. He wasn't really going to force feed her, right?

Inuyasha smirked as he rolled off her, departing to where he had left the food for her clan. He picked up the large beast and tossed it into the clearing, then reached down to pick up a small hare. It wasn't much, just a snack in many respects, but enough to feed the girl reasonably. He turned back toward the girl, who was currently crouched down and ready to flee. He smirked. She didn't seriously think she would get away from him, did she? He, of course, ignored the fact that she had once gotten away from him once before.

"It's not cooked," Inuyasha said, as he approached her with smooth, calculated steps, "but it will still serve it's purpose."

"And that would be?" Kagome asked, slowly.

Inuyasha flashed a grin, showing fangs, before he jumped toward her.

Kagome yelped as she tried running away, only to be forced down to the ground. She struggled to get away, but one strong arm easily dragged her right back to him. She dug her claws into the ground, only to find that he was still stronger, this time using both arms, and leaving deep scratches in the ground.

"This would be a whole lot easier on you, if you would stop struggling. I'm not going to poison you."

Kagome growled, bucking her hips to push him off. She was answered by a deeper growl that sent goose bumps over her skin. He was, once again, angry with her. In the next moment, she found herself flat on her back, with the enraged hanyou straddling her waist. He looked almost feral, his ivory hair whipping in a multitude of directions, his gold eyes glinting, and his fangs bared. Kagome gulped as she replied with the first thing that came to her mind. "Have you noticed how we tend to end up on the ground every time we meet?"

A short pause followed, before both parties started to laugh. It was short and enough to break the stiff tension that had fallen on the two just moments before. Inuyasha rolled off of her and tossed the rabbit at her. "Eat."

Kagome nodded, sitting up to eat. Inuyasha had retreated from her a few paces, but watched her closely to make sure she ate all the meat within. When she had finished, he stood and departed without a word. Kagome smiled slightly, whispering a soft thank you, before picking up the other meal and heading back to den.

Translation and Pronunciation Guide:

Nee-chan- (neeh-chahn) Slang for big sister.

chan- (chahn) Typically this is used for people who are friends or of close relationship like family.

Baka- (bah-kah) Fool, moron.

Toukijin- (Toe-key-gin) Two Ways to take this as: Benevolent Winter or Advance in Battle. Sesshoumaru's second sword forged by the Oni (demon) that destroyed Tetsusaiga in the anime and manga series.

Gomen nasai- (goh-mehn nah-sigh) I am very sorry (formal).

sama- (sah-mah) Typically this is used at the end of a name for someone of a higher rank or older than the person.

Iie- (Ee-eh) No.

Yoru- (yoh-roo) Night, evening.


	4. Fear No Humans

A/N: I sometimes just love how this story comes together. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter.

Warnings: None.

Chapter 4

The soft chirps of the crickets slowly faded away with the soft step of a well placed foot. The figure continued on her path, toward the clearing she had met the White Wolf the day before. A charcoal colored cloak billowed out around her small form to keep the chill of the night off. She carried a small item in her arms, shielded by the cloak, that caused her to move slower than she would have liked. Though she figured her timing wouldn't matter since the White Wolf Chieftain hadn't told her when to meet.

She stepped through a pair of juniper bushes, that had grown quite large in the absence of civilization. Her nose itched slightly at the strong scent that it carried, but knew it was needed. The best way to cover one's scent was with a stronger one, and juniper was the strongest in this forest. The scent she wanted to cover, however, was not her own, but the owner of the cloak. Kagome had been kind enough to give the cloak to her, at least until her own was repaired and dried from her accident earlier that day.

Her cheeks warmed slightly, shaking her head clear of her embarrassing moment of learning the art of fishing. It had been unbelievably cold today, threatening to dump snow upon their heads. Still, Kagome had persisted in taking Rin out to learn to fish. It was customary to give a small gift of fish to start a negotiation. Rin thought this 'gift' was not needed since there really wasn't going to be a negotiation until both clans faced off with each other the following day. Nevertheless she could not go against Kagome's authority, not that she would need to. Kagome had a sixth sense about these kind of things and never once had she been wrong, yet.

As compensation for her horrible fishing skills and her untimely soak in the river, Kagome had lent Rin her cloak. This, of course, meant that Kagome had gone hunting without any warm protection from the elements. Not that Kagome would notice, anyway. The pack had already concluded that their 'leader' was meeting one of the foreign wolves in the forest each night. Even though she took great care to get rid of the male scent, she still hadn't been able to fool Rin or the others. Kouga, therefore, had been in a very sour mood all day, mumbling about insolent women taking too many liberties. Sango and Miroku were usually found whispering their ideas back and forth for small segmented times, before Miroku would be bashed up for his hentai nature and thoughts. Rin, however, thought that Kagome meeting the other wolf was a good idea. After all, they had started to eat better since then, so how could she complain.

At last she reached the clearing, the moonlight brightening the area from it's navy blue darkness to a softer blue-gray. In the center was the boulder, looking almost like a pedestal, with a figure sitting next to it. Rin squinted to see any distinguishing features, but alas the figure almost blended into the rock and forest floor. Hopefully this was the same wolf from the night before. The last thing she needed was to confront a being who thought her as an enemy.

"I should have been clearer in the time for our meeting. Obviously you had no idea that I had meant twilight instead of midnight," came a toneless male voice from the clearing.

Rin stepped out of the shadows, the light illuminating her features clearly for the wolf on the ground. She blushed heavily, thankful that even the low light could not show the tint in her cheeks. "I am sorry if I have disrespected you and your tribe by my lateness. If you do not wish to speak with me, I will understand."

Sesshoumaru rose gracefully from the ground. He was wearing a long snow-white trench coat, that in the dim light looked pale blue. His matching hair appeared to be pulled back in a low ponytail, and his large fluffy tail, hid all other features of the youkai from her sights. His cold gold eyes were fixed upon her in a calculating sort of way.

Rin shifted uneasily waiting for a response or dismissal, her mahogany eyes focused on the ground. The soft sounds of the night animals filled the silence, apparently eager to fill it as much as the other two youkai. Rin finally shook her head, figuring that he would have left if he didn't want her to remain in his presence. Slowly she moved her arms and the small package she carried out from the folds of the cloak. "I brought a token of good faith," Rin said, as she made her way toward the youkai.

Sesshoumaru took two quick intakes of breath to catch the scent of the object as well as the wolf. He wrinkled his nose as the strong scent of juniper covered the scents. She was either very smart or very stupid. Either way, it leaned more toward the stupid part, since he really disliked the smell of juniper. Not only that, but it disallowed him to get a scent of the girl unless he was right next to her. Thus, he was very annoyed as she came closer, only to stop a meter away, where she placed the small gift on the ground. Then she backed away swiftly turning that one meter into four. Only then did he get a good scent of the gift. "A fish?"

Rin nodded. "Yes. Freshly caught and cooked in special herbs and spices."

He took another sniff, catching the hint of ginger, garlic, salt, chili, and... coconut? "This is fried with spices humans use." He scrunched up his nose, backing away from the gift. This gift was an insult to every youkai. These wolves interacted with the human populace? They had to be weak and ignorant to do such a scandalous thing.

Rin's eyes widened. "Does it offend you, sir?"

"Offend me?" Sesshoumaru snapped, gliding over to the girl, his coat billowing ominously behind him. "Using human things offends me. Human spices, human scents, human technology, human weapons... it all offends me. What kind of wolf tribe would deal with humans?"

Rin's sweet disposition left her in an instant. "My wolf tribe does. If it displeases you, then leave."

Sesshoumaru was now very close to her, if he wanted to kill her she would be dead in an instant. "I will leave when I feel like it, little girl. You and your tribe, however, obviously do not understand the dangers humans pose for our kind."

Rin snorted her opinion. "You would say that, being a full youkai. Our tribe is led by a hanyou, and she is quite capable of dealing with humans. We have never had a problem with other humans thanks to her knowledge."

"You are fools then. Humans hunt our kind because they fear us. Fear is a weakness that can get others killed."

"Only ones who are ignorant of how to deal with fear, die. Now, since you will not leave, then I will go. I will not be insulted by you or any of your tribe for our gift. I will just take the offending 'human' scented gift away. It obviously doesn't matter to you who made it, only that it has spices that only humans can obtain." She made to move around him, when his clawed hand reached out and griped her wrist.

He watched as her soft brown eyes rose to meet his. He could see the disappointment in her eyes that shimmered with unshed tears. Apparently he had struck quite a cord with her by attacking her pack for its foolishness. Still, he couldn't help but wonder why the members appeared to be strong even while malnourished. Where did their strength come from?

"Let me go." She had returned her gaze to the ground, refusing to look at him again. The coldness in his eyes had been frightening to her. She had always been quite open with her emotions, as everyone else in their small tribe. Never had she known another being with such control over his emotions. He was practically soulless, and Rin figured he probably had never laughed a day in his life. A depressing thought to the young bottle of sunshine she was.

Sesshoumaru's response was to pull her closer to him, as he lowered his nose toward her hair. He picked up the soft cool scent of freshwater blended into her unique feminine smell of honeysuckle. He ignored the juniper scent, as he focused on a very faint odor that represented the creature to be malnourished. To his surprise the scent was barely there, meaning that she had been eating well for at least the last few days. To his further surprise he also picked up the soft scent of garlic and coconut. She had cooked the fish for him, and he had insulted her.

Rin felt his hand release her a moment later after he was apparently satisfied with whatever he was smelling for. She brushed by him, ignoring the way her heart was pounding in her ears.

"I will meet with your clan tomorrow afternoon, one hour before dusk. I will bring individuals to match your numbers. Leave the fish and relay the message to your people."

Rin paused and glanced over her shoulder at the male, who's eyes seemed to have softened at the corners ever so slightly. Her heart fluttered then, before she replied with a small smile, "There are three cubs and five adults. We will meet you at the shore to the great falls." The next instant she fled from the clearing, leaving the youkai to ponder the smile she had bestowed him upon her departure.

When Inuyasha returned to camp, he noticed that the guards were not in their places. He growled in annoyance. As he crossed the first make-shift nest of one of his fellow comrades, he realized how silent the camp was. The moon was three-forths of the way across its nightly path, which would have the majority of the group tucked safely in their beds. So why weren't they? He put his nose into the air, picking up the scent of his clan over to the east side of the camp.

He made his way across, avoiding stepping in anybody's resting nests. He really hated being out in the open like they currently were. However, the only source of caves was to the north of here, where the other clan appeared to be based. He felt they were too unguarded to be so out in the open, even if humans rarely ever journeyed this far into the heart of the woods. He did have one good thing to say about the open area for camp, though. He liked the fact that he didn't have to smell everyone else so potently, like one would in a cave.

He stepped carefully over a large log before he finally spotted the large bonfire. The whole clan was stationed around the fire, awaiting for their clan leader to begin talking. Inuyasha sighed inwardly, already knowing he was going to be in trouble. He hadn't been informed of any meeting when he left for the night, but that wouldn't stop his brother from digging into him. This wasn't going to be pretty.

"Now that the hanyou has arrived," came Sesshoumaru's dominating voice, "I shall discuss with you the plans for tomorrow."

Inuyasha winced as all eyes focused on him. He rubbed a hand through his silvery strands taking a seat next to the terrible duo twins. Both looked at him with child-like wonder, which only caused the hanyou to move a little ways away. Those two were anything but innocent like a child. Thankfully his move had been wise for a fellow unsuspecting wolf became the one covered in muddy water. Kagura's ruby eyes flashed in merriment showing the only true emotions the twins could ever show. Kanna just sat there demurely, nudging Kagura with a soft push of her hand.

Inuyasha shook his head, turning his attention back to Sesshoumaru, who's gold eyes were focused on him. "What!" snapped the hanyou. "It wasn't my fault! Blame it on those brats."

Sesshoumaru cleared his throat. "If there won't be anymore interruptions," he said that glaring directly at Inuyasha and the youkai twins, "Let me tell you why we are having this meeting. Tomorrow I, Sesshoumaru, shall meet with the ragbag clan that lives out in these woods." As whispering arose, he rose a delicate clawed hand to gather them into silence. "I have, therefore, chosen eight members of the clan to attend the meeting. Kagura, Shiori, Kanna, Ayame, Houjo, Kaede, and Inuyasha."

"Why are you bringing cubs?" asked a confused Ayame. Her flame red hair was in wild disarray, as she had been pulled from her slumber for this meeting, and her normal emerald green eyes looked more lime. She appeared to be lacking on sleep, which was actually the truth. For the last three days she had been on guard or scout duty. Tonight was going to be her first full sleep cycle, until this blasted meeting was called. She wore a long ivory cloak over her clothes to hide her blue bunny printed pajamas.

"The other clan has three cubs."

"Well, I guess that means we have no worries about them taking any of our potential mates then," remarked Kikyou. She was wrapped up in a black bear blanket, hiding the unbelievably sheer nightgown from view. Most of the clan knew about her love of human clothing apparel, especially the slightly more provocative forms. Not that most of the men, mated or not, seem to mind.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but kept his mouth shut. He wasn't going to spill the beans about the fact that one of their number wasn't mated. He'd drop that bit of news when he wasn't so tired. Maybe he should stop hunting for the other clan and find a better way to feed them? He was wasting a lot of precious energy running off every night to catch food he wasn't even going to eat. He would have to come up with a better plan, one that still involved him meeting that girl.

"Furthermore. Ginta and Hakkaku will be left in charge while I, Sesshoumaru, am gone with the others."

"What! Those bumbling idiots in charge!" shrieked Kikyou. "I'm more senior than they are. Surely there is a more responsible party than those two?"

Sesshoumaru shot Kikyou a bone chilling glare. "You want to fight my authority, Kikyou?"

Kikyou shrunk in on herself, shaking her head. No doubt she would end up having menial duties to attend to for her outcry tonight. She needed to learn to keep her mouth shut. The last thing she needed was to alienate her clan leader. Not that she liked him much, but his word was law in this band. If she were a mate to him, she would be able to say what she wanted. Till then, she needed to keep on his good side.

She shifted her lifeless gray-brown eyes toward Inuyasha. He was second choice, but most likely her best bet for a mate this year. He was strong where she was beautiful. Their cubs would be the best of the whole lot. Come solstice she would have him, if not Sesshoumaru. She needed to talk to him about the ceremony. Maybe he could convince his brother to let him pick her. Yes, that is what she would do.

"If there are no more comments I suggest we turn in for the night."

With those parting words, the members rose to their feet heading out toward their beds. The bonfire that had once glowed brightly, was put out for the evening. Kikyou rose and quickly hurried over to Inuyasha before he departed to the other side of camp. "Inuyasha, darling. May I have a word with you?"

If looks could kill, Kikyou would have died on the spot. "What do you want?" he snapped, rising to his feet.

"The spring solstice is coming up soon."

"Your point?"

She subtly opened her blanket ever so slightly to show a glimpse of the creamy, transparent dress within, before she continued, "Well, wouldn't it be easier to just tell Sesshoumaru that I'm going to be your mate. I mean, we don't really have to go through him deciding where to place us when we know we are going to end up together. We both know that I'm the most sought after female in the clan. With me by your side, who's to say you won't end up being chieftain."

Inuyasha's glare intensified, as he snorted his own opinion. "Don't flatter yourself. I would rather not mate this year than end up with a used possession. What's this year going to be? Number six, seven? No wait, I think its nine. I would be a fool to mate with a female who's failed to produce pups after nine different mates."

Kikyou laughed lightly. "You tease. I've been saving my cycles for you, my love." Here, she dropped the blanket to the ground, to reveal herself in all her glory, the sheer fabric barely even considered clothing. Her smug grin faltered slightly, when she noticed that he never took his gaze from her face.

He scoffed. "The one I end up mating with, will be one that no one else has had the pleasure of having before me. Good night, Kikyou." With that he turned and stalked off. He didn't get far, before his brother caught up with him.

"Inuyasha, what have you been doing during the evening?"

"What does it matter? I was at the damn meeting." He fixed his eyes on his brother, before his jaw dropped in surprise. For the first time in his life, he was witnessing Sesshoumaru deep in thought, well at least as deep in thought that didn't involve the torture or maiming of another individual. With this particular look, Inuyasha was positive one could actually see into the depths of his brother's soul. Shockingly, it seemed to hint that Sesshoumaru wasn't as emotionless as everyone believed him to be. Inuyasha shook his head to clear those outlandish thoughts. When he looked at his brother again, the insightful look was gone.

"The youkai I encountered this evening had an interesting scent. You told me that the clan was malnourished. This one, however, was quite healthy."

Inuyasha snorted. "The others are fine, it's the leader that's not eating. She's been giving them all the meat from my kills. She thinks she's incapable of starving as long as the rest-"

"Your kills?" interrupted Sesshoumaru, raising a delicate eyebrow.

Inuyasha's voice failed him as he heard the question from his brother. A soft tint of pink touched his cheeks and he quickly turned his head away from his brother. He hadn't even realized what he had just said, his mind already wandering off toward the girl he had forced to eat. His brother's question had been an icy rain storm on his mood and thoughts. He turned completely away from his brother and quickly stalked off into the enclosing gloom.

"Kagome?"

Kagome was sitting on the hard rock surface behind the waterfall that covered their den. She was rubbing her waist slightly, which was still tingling since her encounter this evening. She could still feel the claws that had dragged her back to the male hanyou. They had been delicate, as not to cause her harm, but the grip had been very strong. Was it really possible for a hanyou to be that strong? She had been considered fairly strong for a female hanyou, but not strong enough to best most upper classed youkai. She was strong in mind and soul, but typically failed in the area of the body. Maybe if she started-

"Kagome?" came the voice again.

Kagome turned her head, her ebony locks cascading down her back. "Yes, Rin?"

Rin carefully took a seat besides her leader. She had her navy blue cloak wrapped around her to keep the late winter air off. She held Kagome's cloak in her hands, before giving it back to it's owner. After her leader had wrapped the cloak around her, she turned her eyes to fix upon her comrade. "They don't like humans at all. I know I didn't divulge this information sooner in front of the others, but I thought you should know."

Kagome's nodded her head slightly. "There's nothing to worry about, Rin. Most of our kind harbor such feelings for the humans. They take our land, our mates, our young, and our food." She lifted an arm up, allowing Rin to snuggle into her warmth. Kagome, in turn, dragged a claw delicately through the short brown tresses. "Still, we must learn to co-exist with them. We cannot win if we fight against them, nor can we let them kill us all. The moment our kind learns this, then we can do something to help our survival."

"But isn't it wrong for us to be using things of theirs? I mean the tarps, nets, clothing, and food ingredients."

"No," whispered Kagome, her voice soft and matronly. "All youkai wear clothes of the humans. They are easier to maneuver, and thus are just as essential to us as meat is. Of course, no youkai will ever readily say this. It's a pride thing. We have yet to have any of our kind go into textiles. The other things we use make things simpler. If we had to spend all our time trying to make traps and clothing, we would never have time for hunting."

"I guess so, but isn't it still unwise to go into their areas. I mean the cubs love ice cream and playing video games, but those are all human things. We are making them think humans aren't evil."

"Oh, Rin." Kagome hugged the girl closer to her. "Humans aren't evil. Every living thing has a good and bad side. Humans are no different, except that they are more ignorant of what they do to the world around them. Which is why I permit the excursions into the human cities. We must not be ignorant of them. Ignorance is what hurts us. If we learn and understand the humans, they have less of a chance to hurt us. Of course, this doesn't completely solve everything. Fear is the biggest problem. Humans are less accepting of things that they can't understand. This misunderstanding is where fear becomes our worst enemy."

"So we are essentially gaining nothing out of this by interacting with the human populace?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. We learn a lot from them. As long as we keep our head, they can't hurt us. The key is to be smarter than our threat. We know how they think better than they know us. Therefore, we have a better advantage for survival should the need arise. Now, go to bed. We have an important meeting tomorrow."

Rin nodded and departed back into the heart of the cave. Kagome remained in her spot, thinking over the conversation she had. Tomorrow was going to be a difficult meeting. As a hanyou, she already had a point against her pack, and she couldn't afford anymore. What to do?

Translation and Pronunciation Guide:

Hentai- (hen-tie) Pervert.

Shiori- (she-oh-ree) A bookmarker.

Ginta- (jean-tah) Silver rice.


	5. Tsuki Shikon

A/N: Gomen about the wait… been really busy this semester and trying to write and revive this one does get distracting. Kaminari… I was just about to write this word down in this chapter when a bolt of lightning lit up my entire window and thunder just crashed down a moment later… Apparently my roomies think I now have a Japanese spell book.

Chapter 5

"I hate doing this! Can't we go swimming or something?" grumbled a bored and annoyed kitsune. Deep in the den, four souls were sitting around a small fire with weaponry scattered all about them. Currently, Shippou was polishing several silver arrows with a felt cloth. His nose itched at the smell of the tarnish removal material, but at least he had stopped sneezing.

"Stop complaining," replied an equally annoyed hanyou cub. Souta was sharpening Rin's daggers upon a flat stone, sparks flying with each passing swipe. His black ears were drooping from the heat of the room as well as the physical exertions it took to sharpen the weapons.

"Yeah," came the final voice of the cubs. Kohaku was cleaning away blemishes and stains off his sickle-chain weapon. So far this was the seventh weapon he had cleaned (four arrows and two daggers proceeded). His brow was furrowed trying to see if there remained any tarnishes to the weapon before Souta would sharpen it. It was hard in the dim light of the cave, as fire light was typically never the best to use when cleaning small spots.

They had been told by their leader this morning to clean all the weapons for the meeting tonight. They understood her reasoning, since they too didn't want to be unprepared if things turned ugly. For wolf tribes this bad turn of events was normal, if not expected. It was rare, however, to get a full out blood bath, but still not all members ever returned unscathed. This particular situation was a little different. As they were the weaker party, it was uncommon for the stronger one to want to meet them. Wolves prided themselves on winning against a more challenging opponent, not a weaker one like their group. Still, one could never be too sure if the plan of the other tribe was to cause genocide to any potential threats.

"Discipline is the first step to leaving the arena of pup to adulthood, Shippou," replied Sango, who was examining the finished weapons and fixing any remaining flaws. "Besides, would you really want to go to a meeting with another tribe without your weapons in tip top condition?"

"No," mumbled the disgruntled kit.

"Then there is no need for complaining, now is there?" There was no answer, but the silence signaled the continued work of the three cubs each at their particular tasks.

Kouga and Miroku stood side by side checking the numerous traps that protected the den, while Rin sweept the ground for locations to place the members for the meeting. Everything had to be planned out to the finest detail to insure the safety of the clan, and impress the clan with their unique skills. After all, if anything went wrong during this meeting, a good escape would be needed. Rin also believed that timing and appearance were the key. Since they were lead by a hanyou, she needed to make them look their best. Therefore, bringing out the individual strengths of the members would put a greater advantage to their side.

Not that Rin suspected anything to go seriously wrong. Sure she expected the same cold hatred the leader of the white tribe had shown the previous night, but she didn't expect blood shed. At worst, she expected a quick snide comment or two and a departure. At best, an alliance between the two. This, however, shouldn't be expected considering that their ragbag bunch of youkai had nothing to offer the more sophisticated white clan. Still, one could always hope.

"Chikushou, Houshi!" snapped an irritated Kouga. "That's my foot!"

"I am not a monk," replied Miroku with a grin. He was currently lifting a large rock off of Kouga's foot. "Besides, you should have moved your foot."

"You dropped that blasted thing on purpose!"

"I did not! If I had dropped it on purpose I would have made a snide comment about how slow brown wolf reflexes are."

"My reflexes are not slow!"

Miroku snorted his opinion, adding, "A snail is faster."

The next moment, the boulder was dropped and forgotten as Kouga pounced Miroku. Rin watched on, shaking her head at the sight. The two rolled on the rocky cliff ledge, each swinging claws at each other's faces. Several curses were exchanged, but muffled by the rip of clothes and the grunts of pain. A moment later, a hard push sent the two crashing off the ledge and into the water below.

When they surfaced, a glowering hanyou stood where they had first started their squabble. Her hair was pulled into a tight braid, which currently resided over one shoulder. Her cloak, however, billowed about her figure even though there was no wind present. That alone, was enough to cut off one's speaking ability. The most unnerving feature was the fact that her normally warm brown eyes, were dead cold with flecks of crimson. "If you two are quite finished, I suggest you get back to work on those traps."

The two males nodded dumbly, suddenly very afraid of their leader. They had rarely ever seen Kagome in a bad mood, and right now she looked positively livid. They quickly clamored out of the water with a push or two between each other to show that their fight wasn't finished, just delayed. Rin met them at the shore, rolling her eyes at their childish antics.

"Where'd Kagome go?" asked a confused Miroku as his eyes scanned the area, showing no signs of their leader. Rin pointed a slender claw in the direction behind him. Cautiously he turned to see the said female dropping her cloak upon the ledge beside an iced over waterfall.

There were five falls that made up the valley. Two very small cascades, stood toward the right of them, drawing the cool waters from their heightened, pristine pool into the gentle rolling of two rivers. To their left were three falls that combined to make one larger fall that looked more like a layered wedding veil than actual water. Their fall, where a large cave was situated behind, fell in the far left corner of the canyon. Here the sun was able to shine upon it's waters and allowed the falls to continually flow through out the year. Its height was that of twenty-seven feet, the total height of the walled valley. The final fall stood in the deepest part of the walled valley, doused completely in shadow. It was currently iced over, as it would remain for another month, with a soft undercurrent of frigid water. This fall was slightly over twenty feet, and sprung from a tunnel in the face of the cliff. The group rarely ever traveled over to this fall because of its dangerous sharp ice picks and bitter cold water.

"Eh, what's Kagome up to?" asked an equally confused Kouga.

"She said she was going to retrieve something for the meeting. She said not to wait for her and that she'll be gone most of the day."

"Uh… Rin, you do realize that the meeting is a long time away from now."

Rin nodded. "Which means she'll be in that water for quite awhile."

Kouga and Miroku exchanged glances, but before anyone could stop their reckless leader, she had jumped from the ledge and dived into the cold water. She surfaced once, swimming toward the frozen water world, before she disappeared beneath the surface. A long pause followed as the three members waited for her to resurface. When several minutes had passed, the two males began to get a little nervous.

Rin sighed. "She's fine. There's a cave down there. She showed it to me once. Now hurry up with those traps. We need everything to be ready before the meeting."

With that, the group divided and began their duties once again. Though, the occasional glances toward the falls, kept the members increasingly unnerved and pensive. What Kagome was getting down there, was anybody's guess. They just hoped that it was worth it.

As Sesshoumaru's group entered the clearing, a collective gasp of wonder resounded. Before them, with the sun beginning to descend, had left the sheer walls of the small water valley in vivid colors of red and orange. The pool waters were dark and foreboding, as night began to claim her dominance over the gentle rolling waves. If a rainbow had only stretched across the valley, the whole thing would have been sickenly picturesque. Sesshoumaru's golden eyes scoured the land searching for the pack that he was to meet.

He only spotted one figure in the clearing, as his group stepped out toward the beach. He halted them just beyond the trees, hesitant to enter this open area, when he had yet to sense the presence of others. The figure before him, was crouched in a low position, hovering above the water. With sure movements the figure rose, the black cloak it wore, unwinding around its body.

Rin rose, unfurling like the petals of a flower. She stood upon a flat rock out in the water, just big enough to have allowed her to sit in that crouched position for close to an hour. She stretched her legs, taking one last glance toward the icy waterfall where her leader had yet to arrive, before turning her gaze toward the new group. She leapt gracefully and silently from the rock, landing on the soft sand with barely a whisper of movement.

She moved forward, took a graceful bow before Sesshoumaru and his congregation of wolves, before she finally stood erect before them. She clicked her tongue twice, as Kagome had taught her to do, and was followed by an eerie silence. A soft breeze carried her scent toward the new group, as they each waited in baited breath for the arrival of the clan members.

A moment later, Kouga dropped down from a tree behind the group. He wore a cocky grin on his face, and his arms were spread wide to show that no weapon was drawn. His smile was toothless, as showing of fangs typically represented hostility or domination. His blue eyes scanned the group, flickering multiple times toward the younger adult female white wolf with blood-red hair.

Another figure faded out from the increasing shadows to make his presence known. Miroku's cloak whipped behind him to show his arms also free of weapons. He, however, did not smile, and surveyed the group with distrust. He was the cautious one, except when it came to women. Right now, however, was not a good idea to give into his lecherous tendencies. It could possibly prove his last, and he'd rather Sango give the final blow than some other person he never met.

Lastly, a rock shifted out on the beach. The group watched the progression of a woman emerge from what looked like a small boulder with the ease of an acrobat. Sango, flipped her hair over one of her shoulders, pulling out a large boomerang from the sand. She stood farther away from the group, weapon slung over her shoulder to show that any false movement on their part and she would attack.

The white wolves eyed the members of the clan with wary, yet fascinated expressions. This was the first time some of them had ever seen such an entrance from another clan, especially one that had been so perfectly executed. They obviously were skilled in their art of hiding, but that was to be expected from such a small mixed clan. The only members missing now, were the cubs and their leader. Sesshoumaru raised a delicate eyebrow toward Rin, who just smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

A stiff silence fell, until the sound of emergence from the water, announced the remaining adult member of the group. At first there was a soft water trail, and then a pale face emerged, her eyes closed to the world. She continued to walk out of the water, never a waver or slippage of her foot as she made her way to shore. The water trailed off her clothing in turrets, leaving little to the imagination of her figure. Thankfully, the black material disallowed anything more than that.

When she was half way out, her eyes opened reveling their swirling brown depths. A soft click of the tongue called out to her remaining hidden members. At the sound, the three pups dropped down from a tree to the far left of the group. As a swirl of pink youki energy dried her clothing, the cubs reached her at the shore. She grasped a cloak from one of the cubs, tossing it upon her shoulders and ignoring her still wet hair and dripping ears.

She stopped her walk, three feet away from the foreign tribe, her eyes never leaving them. Her eyes drifted to focus briefly on each of the members of the foreign clan, taking a quick sniff to obtain their scents. The whole process took no longer than a minute, even with her slight delay toward one member. She, however, didn't show recognition toward the white hanyou, but her survey of him lasted a second longer than necessary. This caused a slight smirk to spread on Inuyasha's face, in which he quickly bowed his head to hide the look.

Kagome, finally gave a slight, very formal, bow to Sesshoumaru, who inclined his head ever so slightly in response. "You wished to speak with my clan?"

Sesshoumaru tipped his head again, signifying his consent.

"Very well then. I am Kagome, original member of the black wolf clan, Yoru. Currently, hanyou leader to the Kokoro Clan. As you can see, we are a mixed and small, unimportant clan. My second is Kouga, original leader to the Shinrin Clan before the famine." She gestured toward Kouga, who bowed completely over at the waist. As the group turned to look at Kouga, Kagome continued and gestured to her right. "This is Rin, from the Yoru Clan." Rin mimicked the bow from before, her eyes never leaving the white wolf leader. "The one with the boomerang is Sango of the Shinrin Clan." Sango made a slight inclination of the head, but no more. "Lastly, there is Miroku of the Yoru Clan." Miroku made a very fancy bow, before winking over toward Sango, who growled in response. "Our pups are: Kohaku of Shinrin, Souta of Yoru, and Shippou of Kitsune Kaminari." The three cubs made swift bows, as they stood directly behind their leader.

Sesshoumaru nodded in acknowledgement of the members. "I am Sesshoumaru, youkai leader of the Moya Clan." He gestured to his right to show an elderly woman. "This is Elder Kaede, chief youki mage. My second, the hanyou Inuyasha. The youkai female behind him is Ayame." Each of these members nodded respectively toward Kagome. "And finally, the hanyou Houjo." Here, this youkai smiled and blushed toward Kagome, who raised her eyebrow in question. "The three cubs are Kagura and Kanna who are youkai twins, and the hanyou Shiori."

Kagome nodded to each of the members in turn, before she fixed a cold stare at Sesshoumaru. "State your business."

"This Sesshoumaru does not approve of your clans interactions with humans. My clan should kill you now in order to keep the ookami youkai free of such pollutants."

This statement surprised the Moya Clan as much as it ticked off the members of the Kokoro. This meeting was already starting out on a bad foot. All eyes focused on Kagome, who had made no noise or reaction to the statement. She was studying the group, weighing the significance of each word and growl exchanged.

"Are you not afraid to die today, hanyou?" Sesshoumaru said, when no reaction came from the girl. He had been disappointed, yet impressed by the fact that no fear scent or look ever crossed the face of Kagome.

At this comment, though, a small smile graced her lips. "You, above all others, should understand that the life of a hanyou is constantly in threat of death, considering your own brother is one. We are, after all, lower than the status of humans in the ranking system, regarding that most hanyou stem from at least one human parent. If we feared death all the time, we would never learn to live. As for myself, I would have killed off my clan during the winter, if I feared death. Therefore, I see no reason to fear you, as fear is nothing more than ignorance."

A silence passed over the two groups. Before she continued. "Besides, if you truly hate humans so much, I suggest you obtain new clothing. No youkai currently reside in the textile world, and therefore all your clothing is human made. I suggest you strip from them, so that you are not polluted anymore than you already are."

A few muffled their laughter as Sesshoumaru stalked toward Kagome. 'Too smart for your own good, Hanyou leader of Kokoro. A suggest a mate is needed to tame your fire, and I am pretty sure my brother would be more than happy to oblige."

The reaction to that comment was instantaneous. Ayame and Kaede had looked at the pink tinted cheeks of Inuyasha, and lost the will to say something. Kagura, Kanna, and Shiori had all burst into giggles, latching themselves at the side of the embarrassed and growling male hanyou. Houjo had also growled, but toward Sesshoumaru and his assumptions. As for Kagome's clan, threatening growls came from Kouga, Sango, and Rin. Though Rin's were directed more toward the comment and closeness of the two leaders, than the implication of mating between Inuyasha and Kagome. Kohaku, Shippou, and Souta were held back by a hand from Miroku, to prevent themselves from lunging at Sesshoumaru or Inuyasha. Miroku, however, looked overly amused with a slight lecherous smirk on his face. As for Kagome she also had soft pink tints on her cheeks, but was responding in a defensive growl.

"Nevertheless," Sesshoumaru continued, "you make a valid point." At this, silence regained its hold. "This, therefore, brings this Sesshoumaru back to the reason we are meeting. In exchange for an adequate shelter area for my clan and detailed knowledge of the area, this clan is willing to form an alliance with yours."

"What does my clan get out of this alliance?"

"Protection, food, information, and, of course, strength in numbers."

Kagome nodded. "My clan and I will have to discuss possible locations to place your clan. Currently, there is only one safe haven, and that is where my clan resides. I do believe your clan wouldn't be too happy to be in such close confines with mine."

Sesshoumaru turned his head to look at Inuyasha, who only shrugged his shoulders and gave a slight nod. The one who spoke next, however, was not him.

"The clan will follow whatever decision, Lord Sesshoumaru makes. Therefore, it would not matter where they were to be placed as long as it is sheltered," stated Kaede, a small twinkle of amusement in her one good eye, a black patch covered the other.

Kagome nodded her head. She then moved her hand into a small pouch located at her hip. Reaching inside she grabbed something and then held it out to Sesshoumaru. "This is a gift from our clan, signaling the dealings of this alliance. It is far stronger than any blood oath, which I am quite sure you would rather not have... at least with a hanyou." She slowly opened her hand to show what she held.

In the palm of her hand was a round white stone, that glowed with an ethereal light. "Tsuki Shikon are the moonstones forged in the heat of battle when the legendary Shikon no Tama was formed. Each stone holds the life force of the various individuals that were not pulled into the Shikon no Tama, thousands of years ago. This has the ability to increase the bearer's powers by two fold, but it also has another ability. If the heart of our alliance is ever broken, this stone will turn black. It will be forever polluted and will never be white again." She placed the stone in Sesshoumaru's clawed hand.

The stone flickered for a moment, before the glow disappeared and only a smooth round white stone remained. Sesshoumaru inclined his head and stepped back toward his clan. "Our deal is sealed then."

Kagome nodded. "Rin and Kouga will accompany you back to survey the area of your camp and gather the number of your people. I assure you that they will not cause any problems."

"Kaede and Houjo will accompany your clan back to your dwellings as well."

With that said, the groups split. Kagome turned to Sango and Miroku. "Take the pups and our two guests back to the den. Let them ask any questions, and answer them. I leave to hunt." As she disappeared into the woods, another being followed her.

"This way, Lady Kaede, Houjo," Miroku said, the kits drawing up behind the two members of the Moya clan. With that said, the groups departed, each short a hanyou.

Translation and Pronunciation Guide:

Chikushou- (che-coo-show) Damn it.

Houshi- (hoh-she) Buddhist monk.

Kokoro- (koh-koh-row) Mind, spirit, heart, will.

Shinrin- (she-n-ree-n) Forest, wood.

Kitsune- (key-sue-neh) Fox.

Kaminari- (kah-me-nah-ree) Thunder.

Moya- (moh-yah) Haze, mist.

Ookami- (Oh-oh-kah-me) Wolf.

Tsuki Shikon- (sue-key she-con) Moon jewels.

Shikon no Tama- (she-con noh tah-mah) Jewel of four souls.


	6. Stalk, Walk, Talk

AN: edited and complete for your viewing pleasure… Hopefully, soon I'll be able to get to actually writing the next chapter. It's already handwritten, just need it typed and perfected to an adequate level. Enjoy.

Warnings: none. Fluff

Chapter 6

As the darkness began to enshroud the inhabitants of the forest, two of its wild creatures raced along the tree tops. The stark contrast between the two was easy to see, the yin and yang of the forest. Balance in every form. Man and woman, black and white, good and evil. The distant sounds of animal calls enhanced their harmonious run with the beat of the wild. They were one, whether or not they knew it.

Inuyasha drew up along side Kagome, his silvery hair streaming out behind him. He was at ease with this simple run, feeling free and relaxed in the elements. He ignored the fact that he was getting a rush from the run with this midnight dweller of Kokoro. He also ignored that if he just reached out slightly he could capture her for his own. He would capture her eventually, he vowed silently, watching her form through the corner of his eyes. He decided that he needed a change of subjects, and therefore changed his directions from her side. With a motion of his hand and a slight bark, Inuyasha directed her to follow him.

She turned her warm brown eyes toward him. She had warred with herself when she let him catch up with her. Why was she allowing him follow her, and furthermore, why was she so willing to follow him? With a slight shrug of her shoulders she stopped her direction and followed him. She could deal with those thoughts at another time. Right now she wanted to know where they were headed. She drew to his side, and growled out a question to him.

His smirk was all the answer he gave her, before they burst from the forest. The moon shown brightly, and illuminated the vast pasture before them. With a sniff of his nose, he swiftly and quietly, stalked toward a wooden fence.

"Why are we here?" hissed Kagome. She could smell the cattle long before she could make out their shapes in the field. This was a human settlement on the outskirts of the city to the East. There was no reason for them to be here, not to mention that they could seriously get into trouble if anything went wrong.

"You want to learn how to hunt, don't you?" he snapped back quietly.

Her eyes widened. "Bu- but these are human owned animals! We can't hunt them!"

Inuyasha snorted. "You can hunt, but you can't kill." He lifted himself up onto the wooden fence, his eyes scanned the field, wary of danger. "You have the ability to hunt down small critters, but in order to catch the larger ones, you need practice. These won't hurt you, much, and they are easier to catch than their wild cousins."

Kagome growled. "Anyone can catch those lazy mongrels."

He smiled, a knowing glint slipped into his honey colored eyes. "Well then go ahead. We'll be off to a real hunt as soon as you catch one." He brought his clawed hand to his face, willing himself to not laugh. The girl was in for a real surprise.

She growled and leapt over the fence. A moment later she disappeared into the gloom, heading toward the sleeping cattle. Her approach was loud and reckless, like a human trying to approach the beasts. Not even animals would have been so stupid to be that loud.

He lost his will power to suppress his mirth and chuckled softly. "Stupid girl. Even docile animals know how to evade such an open and obvious attack." He settled himself down on the fence to get comfortable for the long wait.

She never knew what happened. One moment the herd rested and lazed about in their sleep and the next they stampeded a retreat. She had never observed cattle in a stampede, and thus had no idea they could run that fast. She cursed and gave chase. Just as she was about to catch one, they changed directions on her and she was left to trip and fall on her face.

She cursed, picked up her abused body, and chased after the herd again. This time they charged at her which caused her to jump and roll away. This chase-charge game played for several more rounds, that allowed the poor hanyou several trips into the watering hole. It finally was to the point that she was too sore to adequately chase after them any more. She was bruised, muddy, smelly, and water logged.

Inuyasha could be seen silently laughing at the girl upon his perch. It had been worth it to bring her here, if only for a good laugh. It had been a long time since he had been so amused... long before the migration had taken place. This slip of a woman had somehow wiggled her way beneath his barriers and into his life. If he had been told a year ago that he would meet such a girl, he would have scoffed at them.

Kagome stumbled over to him, her head held down in defeat. She collapsed against the fence trying to get her energy back up after her 'exercise.' She felt like she'd been dragged through the mud for a solid week straight. She looked like it too, not to mention the smelly manure scent covering her body. "Why?"

He looked down at her, but before he could reply he heard the sounds of cars. Humans had arrived, and only then did he realize how much noise they had made. "Kuso! Come on bitch, time to go." He hopped off the fence to face her. She was tired and a bit unsteady on her feet, he realized, as she tried to keep her balance by placing her arms upon the fence. He sighed inwardly, his nose wrinkled at the smell. She was in no condition to run out of here.

He reached over and picked up the startled hanyou and tossed her over his shoulder. A loud squeak was followed by several loud but muffled rants from the girl, momentarily letting him forget that she smelled like cow manure. He wrapped one arm around the back of her legs and leapt out of the enclosure, and raced for the woods. A few weak pounds on his back were his only indication that she really didn't like that take off.

Back in the safety of the trees, he sprinted toward the nearest watering source. His sure footed movements were silent enough that one could pick up the soft sounds of night created by crickets and various other animals of the dark.

The silence was golden that is until an annoyed Kagome broke it. "I can walk, Inuyasha."

His reply was a tighter grip on her legs, silencing any further protests.

She sighed, lifted her arm up to her chin, and pressed her elbow into his back. She was tired of the blood rushing to her head, and the blurry scenery made her a bit ill. She shivered slightly as a cool breeze brushed her flesh. It was darker and colder now, especially in her still dampened state. She focused on all the things she had to do, like hunt for some food for her clan, to help her ignore the chill. She also mused over the being that carried her, and wondered where they were going and what he thought. He, however, didn't seem to be in a very talkative mood to tell her anything about their current destination or what was on his mind. Not that he ever appeared to be in a 'talkative' mood, she realized.

Her thoughts and attention were suddenly scattered as she plunged into cold water. She surfaced in a silent scream, her lips blue and her body shivered uncontrollably. Her blurry eyes finally fixed upon a mildly entertained Inuyasha, standing on the shore line. She narrowed her eyes and leveled him with a murderous glare.

"There's some warm water behind that rock ledge," he stated and pointed a long fingered claw in the direction behind her. "Make sure you clean off here first." He pulled at a small root and tossed it at the startled girl. "I'll be back soon." Then he was gone into the night.

Kagome fumed for a full minute before she turned her gaze to the root which floated in the water. This plant, when rubbed against a stone, produced a soapy film used to clean off smells, stains, and dirt from clothing and body. How had he known what this was? As far as she knew, this particular root was only native in this area. She sighed but decided to make the best of her alone time. She started rubbing the root against a flat stone upon the shore, and her thoughts floated back to the hanyou.

What in the world was going on with him? With them? He treated her just like a mate. She couldn't even begin to fathom what went on in his head to make him act in such a way. Still, she could hardly complain. After all, he had carried her away from danger when the humans began to arrive. He also had been thoughtful enough to let her clean off the smell on her clothes and body. And yet, why was he so willing to teach her to hunt, and then turn around and laugh at her? His motives stunk worse than a mink.

A soft shuffle in the bushes brought her back to reality as a small squirrel ran from the bush and up into a tree, an acorn in his teeth. She smiled, before she realized that the male said he would be back soon. Not wanting to be caught bathing, she rubbed the root harder against the stone. There was no way she was going to have him come back and watch her bathe. Quickly, she scrubbed down her clothes and exposed skin and thus eliminated the awful smells and stains. If she worked quickly she could also get out of this cold water, and then warm up in the hot water behind the spring.

Rin and Kouga remained close to each other as they sat beside a large fire with their host and upper members of the white wolf clan gathered around. Sesshoumaru had tended not to stray far from the pair, and instead was perched upon a large stone boulder behind Rin's right side. Ayame chatted animatedly about various things the Moya Clan had procured and done on their forced migration. Her efforts to ease the tension helped and relaxed the two to some extent. However, Kouga was still on edge due to Kagome's and Inuyasha's simultaneous disappearance, while Rin had a difficult time with Sesshoumaru practically breathing down her back.

When they had first arrived at the camp, they had been instantly surrounded by the curious onlookers. Rin had noted that very few members were older than their leader. She also noted that there were no true pups, the youngest no more than six years old. Either the human hunting or the journey had caused such a decreased number. Even more surprising was the lack of males. Out of thirty-six wolves, less than half were male.

She Decided to distract herself from her unease, and she pulled out a small piece of hide and a black charcoal. Earlier they had walked the perimeter of the camp, which was spread out quite a bit around the clearing. A good and bad thing. Good because the more scattered, the less likely they were to attract unwanted attention. Bad because it spread them out a bit too thin to keep them safe. Nevertheless, they had utilized the space in the best possible way which showed great leadership and wisdom. The overall layout of the land, however, was rather poor and weak that left openings for attack and holes in defense. She jotted down these notes on the hide.

Kouga currently talked about the winter months here with Ayame and the other Moya wolves. It had been colder than usual where diseases polluted any and almost all food they could find. Half of his tribe had been lost by famine by the start of winter. By mid-winter only three of his tribe remained after starvation. Humans had made a trek through the forest areas and hunted for animals and cut down trees as well. As a result, the animals had fled, and left them with little to nothing to eat. Before he could move the tribe into migrating with the food, too many of them had become too weak to travel. That was when Kagome and her small pack arrived, but even her skills could not save the pack from its downfall.

Rin faded out from the conversation, and her eyes flickered over the members of the clan. She tried to recall how many people she had seen, when a shadow fell over her. She glanced upward to see that Sesshoumaru stood behind her. Rin opened her mouth to ask something, but was cut off by his one worded answer, "Come."

She nodded her head, rose from the ground, and alerted Kouga of her departure. At his curious look, she answered, "I'll be back in a few. I need to get the rest of the information Kagome wanted."

He looked a bit unsure, but nodded his head for her to depart. He turned his gaze back to the sweet female he had been talking to. She was vibrant and enthusiastic about telling her clan's stories. Apparently, her father had been the clan's recorder, and had once kept stores of books on their history. Ayame was just as attentive to the history, and wanted to know everything there was to it. It was a subject he knew little about, but now found it to be fascinating. He didn't know then, but that was the night when he stopped viewing Kagome as his future mate. It was also the night that this slip of a woman he had just met, would start to haunt his very thoughts and dreams.

Rin stepped away from her friend and followed the regal looking Sesshoumaru. She felt very much the child when she walked beside him. Whatever had made him so distant from others, was hard to say, and it made her heart ache to see him so aloof. Still he was a clan leader, which meant that the very survival of his people were his responsibility. A difficult and hard task. Having watched Kagome take care of their small bunch, it was little wonder how she bared up under the stress. But the hanyou hadn't lost any individuals under her command, unlike this man who walked beside her. Could she ever have born that weight if she had stayed with her father? More than likely, her mate would have taken her place at the chieftain, but nonetheless, the thought was still there.

"Your questions?"

"Huh?" She paused, and glanced at the youkai, who know stood in front of her. She shook her head slightly before she remembered why she had wondered off with him. "Oh, right... questions." She flushed profusely, and glanced down at her paper. "Kagome-sama asked for the statistics of your clan."

Sesshoumaru nodded and motioned the girl to a seat beside a smaller fire. The other wolves around it had quickly fled at the look their leader bestowed upon them. "There is a grand total of thirty-six wolves. Five are below the age of twelve and six over the age two hundred. Kaede is the oldest at two hundred and forty-seven. Our youngest is Mizudori at six years of age. Sixteen males, four not of age, twenty females, five not of age. Seven permanent mating couples. One youki healer, one baboon youkai, and one toad youkai."

She jotted the numbers down. "How many... umm... died on the journey here?"

"Before the hunts started six years ago, our clan had been divided into different sects. My father ruled over two hundred white wolves. Several clans were totally annihilated by human militia."

"Militia?" She looked up at him in horror.

He nodded his head. "The area to the south is a bit less civilized, and we had lived there for such a long time that most of the clan knew nothing more and feared change. After the death of my father and his human mate, I gathered what remained of the clans and left. We picked up a few stragglers on the way too."

Her shoulders sagged as she slightly nodded her head. "I'm sorry."

Sesshoumaru gave her a cool look before he began to list off other statistics about his clan. He talked fast, and forced the poor girl to fall behind several times. As the fire became too low to adequately see the paper, he stopped and motioned for her to stand. He kept his gaze fixed away from the girl with difficulty as he warred with his more primal instincts.

Her scent was getting to him which, in turn, had caused him to talk fast so he could ignore it. He stood there now and waited for her to follow, that he was reminded of her affects upon him and made the feelings to come back full force. Sure he could have any woman he choose considering that most of the clan women, if not all, followed his orders without hesitation or question. They were practically mindless and intimidated by his power. This slip of woman, however, had fire to her. Such instances, as when she had constantly interrupted him to get the facts straight during his monologue and she took her time following him, were just a few of the instances that placed her in a bracket far above the rest. Most of the clan would not have dared to interrupt him, nor would they take forever to gather their things and follow him. Those such examples even excluded the conflict he had seen in her from their previous more private encounters.

He thanked the wood smoke that covered most of her scent, as they walked back to the main fire in silence. She had rushed off upon spotting Kouga and yanked him off his seat by the fire. Together they bowed toward Sesshoumaru and quickly gave their thanks. Kouga thanked Ayame, before Rin dragged him off, back to their den.

Sesshoumaru watched them leave, an amused look on his face. Rin's cheeks were slightly pink, but why they were, was a mystery to him. When the pair had disappeared from the group, a presence beside him caused him to turn his gaze. Ayame looked at him with a knowing gaze, a small smile on her lips. He tipped his head slightly, which made Ayame jump up and scream in joy. That was the closest she would get to a positive answer from him.

He turned his gaze away from the girl, and his eyes drifted over the slowly rising crowd. It was almost time for dinner, which would bring the tribe and its people together. Soon, the remaining members of his clan would return. Well, most of them. He had no idea where Inuyasha was or when the stupid pup would return. Apparently, his dimwit, little halfling of a brother couldn't stave off his instincts as well as himself. His eyes drifted, spotting an annoyed bitch with long straight black hair, who glared at the forest.

Now that he thought about it, Kikyou did look a whole lot like Kagome, but with one major difference. Kagome was innocent, untrained, and pure while Kikyou had already been used many times. She had yet to produce a pup, but he suspected that her temporary mates made sure of that. It wasn't really his problem. If Inuyasha was going to do what he suspected he would, Kikyou would be without a mate this year. She would be fair game- nice for the males who wanted fun, bad for the females who wanted faithful mates. His gaze flickered to the male sitting behind her a ways. But if Naraku wanted her, he could allow such to occur. He wasn't wolf, but the baboon wasn't all that bad. Frankly, he suspected he treated the girl a lot better than her past 'owners.' Something else to contemplate before the spring festival.

When Inuyasha returned, he placed a large animal on the ground beside the stream. The cold water was empty, but he could hear the soft sounds of Kagome's voice drifting over the rock ledge that surrounded the warm water. The movement of water told him that she was still in there, which made him grin lecherously. Just imagining the water as it dripped down her smooth curves, like it had earlier this evening...

He shook his head of those thoughts. Now was not the time to lose his control over a mere girl. A pretty luscious body that belonged to an out-spoken wench. He shifted himself to lean over and catch her scent that still hovered over the pool of water. The sweet scent had returned full force, and for that he was glad. He wasn't sure he could stand the other smells to cover up her natural one too much longer. "Oi, Bitch! I'm back!"

A soft feminine squeak, placed a very large smirk on his face. He loved it how he could startle her so easily. He pulled up another root, and entered the cold water. His white shirt became a sheer plaster against his skin as he scrubbed off the small stains. He would have to visit Kaede again to get some of the blood stains removed completely from the garments. Might as well change clothes when he got there too, since his brother and others in the tribe might give him a lecture about running around with other females. The solstice was coming soon and since he was of age, Sesshoumaru would pick a suitable mate out for him from the tribe for the season. His mate would have to be a white, much to his dislike since he didn't want Kikyou or Ayame- the few available females- to be his.

"So you went to hunt?"

Startled, he turned his honeyed gaze to the dry Kagome. She stood beside the kill, and looked at him with a hooded gaze. What he would give to break the rules and choose this raven beauty for his mate than one of his own. He should probably talk to Kaede about this situation. He could do it while he got the stain remover as a logical reason to seek the old woman's counsel. "Aa, I did."

She averted her gaze as her eyes lingered far too long on the smooth ripples of muscles on his chest and arms that were exposed from the water. She had little doubt that he noticed how exposed he was to her gaze. She quickly turned her head, ran her claws through her unbound hair, and began to braid her hair. It would be a dangerous idea to become aroused around this male specimen. She wouldn't stand a chance running away.

Inuyasha saw her averted gaze, and glanced down to see his see-through shirt. He smirked and bowed his head, and scrubbed his claws more thoroughly than needed. His cheeks burned, but secretly he was beyond happy. He decided that he would make her his mate, with or without Sesshoumaru's consent. He carefully dipped down further into the spring, and lowered his mane of hair into the water.

He froze, his head barely above the water to keep his ears dry, when he felt small hands upon his head. Smooth and soft rubs fell upon his ears, followed soon after by small amounts of water. It told him all he needed to know that said female was washing his hair. He blinked, held his breath, and forced his eyes to remain open. A gentle nudge from her and he raised himself out of the water some as he obeyed the silent command. He turned his head slightly to look at her.

Intent on her work, she missed the heated gaze the hanyou shifted toward her. She washed and scrubbed out the blood and dirt from his hair. She was having a hard time believing that his hair was a whole lot softer than hers. Why did males always seem to have nice hair, and yet never take care of it? She poured some more water on his hair, and washed away the soap.

A moment later she felt his gaze, and looked to the male hanyou. She gulped slightly just as she realized what exactly she had been doing. "Sorry." She moved quickly away from him, as if she had been burned. She stood on the shore, and a swirl of her youki dried her clothing once again.

Inuyasha shook his head and glared at the girl. "You should be!" he snapped. He was extremely embarrassed, and looked away to wash out his hair more thoroughly. Finally, he stepped out of the water, though his gaze was now turned down and refused to meet hers. The chill of the night was a surprise to him, after such heated interactions. He move toward the kill, when a hand on his arm stopped him. He turned to see her eyes closed and the soft pink waves of energy flowing from her to him.

She released him a moment later, his clothes dry. "It would be better to be dry." She turned her gaze away, to look at the surrounding forest.

His eyes softened slightly, before he returned to his gruff mannerisms."Let's go." He picked up the kill and placed it over his shoulder. "I need to collect my people and return to camp."

Kagome nodded, as she lead the way back toward her cave dwelling. They didn't comment again, deciding that tonight was enough of a ride to not need any further complications to be added to it. No doubt they would be having some interesting arguments with their brains for the rest of the evening and possibly the rest of the week.

Translation and Pronunciation Guide:

Mizudori- (me-zoo-doh-ree) Waterfowl.

Oi- (oy) Hey.

Aa- (ah-ah) Yes. Usually only used by males.


End file.
